The national legislature created by the Articles of Confederation lacked sufficient powers to govern the country properly. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 created a stronger Congress with adequate powers to govern. The legislative powers were enumerated, or listed, in Article I, Section 8, whereas Article I, Section 9 enumerated powers which Congress was constitutionally restricted from exercising. Article VI made constitutional congressional laws and treaties part of the supreme law of the land. During the 1787-1788 ratification debate over the Constitution, the Federalists defended the strengthened, though limited, legislative branch and its relationship to the executive and judicial branches. The Anti-Federalists were critics of the Constitution including the Congress because they argued that it had unlimited powers and would destroy liberty.

During the first century of the United States, the Congress acted upon the powers delegated to it by the Constitution, particularly those enumerated in Article I, Section 8. While this entailed some regulation by the national government, most economic policies were enacted at the state and local levels, and the federal government exercised little regulation of the economy. In the decades that followed the Civil War, the scope of power of Congress would grow exponentially. This expansion of power was fueled by new interpretations of the Commerce Clause in Article I, Section 8, which empowered Congress to “regulate interstate commerce.” However in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries it was interpreted to justify a regulatory state that encompassed almost every aspect of American public life. These interpretations were confirmed and expanded by a series of Supreme Court decisions. The Supreme Court allowed Congress to exercise new powers in the name of commerce and to delegate its regulatory authority to the executive. In recent years there has been more resistance to this course of expansion. The Supreme Court more narrowly defined what commerce is and restricted the scope of congressional power. This has been further advanced by rules changes in the House of Representatives that require new bills to be more closely aligned with the enumerated powers of the Constitution.

In the early republic, Congress was a colorful, exciting, unpredictable, and contentious branch of the United States government. The members constantly quarreled but often deliberated and compromised through persuasive oratory and rational conversation. Congress was divided by party and sectionalism, but was guided through these difficulties by legislative statesmen. The Congress continued to function as the undisputed law making body of the people of the United  States. Even during some of its most tumultuous years, from 1789 until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1860, the Congress effectively governed the nation.

The Constitution was written in the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by delegates from 12 states, in order to replace the Articles of Confederation with a new form of government. It created a federal system with a national government composed of 3 separated powers, and included both reserved and concurrent powers of states.

What is the virtue of prudence? Explore how George Washington's prudence influenced the early republic and how it influences what we value in both citizens and leaders.

What are the powers delegated to the Executive Branch and how have constitutional principles have applied throughout U.S. History? Examine these questions with your students and equip them to be more informed citizens and critical students of history and current events. The curriculum is made possible by The National Endowment for the Humanities and Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr.

Case background and primary source documents concerning the Supreme Court case of United States v. Nixon. Dealing with the principle of separation of powers, this lesson focuses on the question of whether or not the Constitution’s separation of powers intended to create an absolute executive privilege.

The principle of due process of law means that the government must follow duly-enacted laws when it seeks to restrict or deny fundamental rights, including a person’s rights to life, liberty, or property. In essence, it means that the government must treat its citizens fairly, following laws and established procedures in everything it does. It is the commitment to this principle that makes the United States, as John Adams once noted, “a government of laws, and not of men.”

Case background and primary source documents concerning the Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison. Setting the precedent of Judicial review, this lesson focuses on the question of whether or not the Supreme Court should have the power to overturn unconstitutional federal laws.

Does the Supreme Court still have a responsibility to abide by fair trials, due process, and the Constitution during wartime? Evaluate the contradictory viewpoints concerning liberty and security.

The effects of incorporation have been far-reaching and the role of the federal government has been significantly transformed. The basic responsibility of the Federal government to protect fundamental rights has not changed. However, citizens and the courts are still working to determine exactly what those rights are and who should protect them. This lesson examines that question and the debate concerning "Who should protect our fundamental freedoms?".

This lesson includes a variety of activities and primary source excerpts, providing students with a comprehensive study of federalism. Through the Constitution’s system of federalism, power is divided between national and subnational governments. Federalism allows citizens to make policy decisions at state and local levels. Decentralization draws individuals out of private life and compels civic engagement.

The delegates to the Constitutional Convention embraced the difficult duty of crafting a government that appropriately distributed the power between the national government and the states. For the Founders, the principle of federalism was a means of protecting liberty by limiting and dividing government power. This lesson explores the principle of federalism, how it is constructed in the Constitution, and  the relationship between national and state powers.

From the Founding generation to the present day, controversy continues regarding the proper division of power between state and national government. What the Founders did not find debatable was the wisdom of dividing power both among and within governments. In short, they considered the federal system to be a critical part of the American constitutional order.

Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce, granted in the Commerce Clause, is often invoked as justification for laws regulating a wide variety of economic activities. How much power does the Commerce Clause allow the federal government to have over the states? This lesson examines this question by looking at the principle behind this clause, the Founders intentions, and how the Supreme Court has interpreted the clause throughout American History.