gloss · the reading room

Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump · ¶171

What do we make, too, of what the founders said about Article I both before and after the Constitution's ratification? They regularly referred to powers in Article I, § 8—even those that do not touch on life, liberty, or property—as legislative in nature. At the Constitutional Convention, early drafts described the powers to regulate “foreign” commerce, “raise armies,” “equip Fleets,” “coi[n] . . . money,” and “establish post-offices” as “legislative powers.” 2 The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, pp. 142–144 (M. Farrand ed. 1966) (Farrand). James Madison wrote to Congress in 1817 that “[t]he legislative powers vested in Congress are specified and enumerated in the eighth section of the first article of the Constitution.” 8 The Writings of James Madison 386 (G. Hunt ed. 1908); see also 1 id., at 112, 133, 381 (noting, before the Constitutional Convention, the “legislative…
Read in context ›

preliminary print (page proof)
Source edition
Passage preview. Read in context for the complete text, notes and references.