American Government Essay

Six years later, in 1787, a new constitution was drafted in lieu of the existing weak federal government, bringing into power a stronger federal structure with some power left to the states. However, there were still some clarifications to be made. Among them, was the establishment of a federally chartered bank (Kozlowski, Darrell, & Jennifer (2010) pp. This followed the Alexander Hamilton's review and interpretation of the constitution; that such a facility would back the federal government’s ability to tax, pay debts and acquire loans. The legitimacy of the bank would thus be backed using the Necessary and Proper Clause. This was implemented through a number of related articles and doctrines such as the Commerce Clause, the Tenth Amendment and the Eleventh Amendment.

Section 5 of the 14th Amendment was also interpreted to confer restrictions to Congressional powers. Any legal rights and responsibilities not conferred to the Federal government are to be conferred to the states. The move came after the Supreme Court view that the federal government had become too powerful and essentially led to a unitary federalism situation; especially after the New Deal Legislation that took away some state powers and conferred them to the National Government. When President Nixon came to power in 1969, the ideas of New Federalism came to fruition (Welch, (2012) pp.  Freedmen, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Right to Bear Arms, 1866-1876. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 1998. Print. Top of Form Kozlowski, Darrell J, and Jennifer L. Weber. P, 1992. Print. Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form.