Founding Fathers Drafted The Constitution Vs. Constitution Of The United States
STATE VERSUS FEDERAL
When the founding fathers drafted the Constitution, they were trying to make an “equal” government where the federal government doesn’t have all control. In order to do that, they delegated certain responsibilities to the states and to the federal government. On the issues that were not covered in the Constitution, the states would take control and make their own laws. What the founding fathers didn’t consider though is how people would interpret the Constitution years after it was drafted. The federal government’s power has increased in relation to that of the states because of such interpretations.
The Commerce Clause which is located in Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution gives the federal government …show more content…
the power “to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.”1 The founding fathers originally only meant for this clause to help regulate trade and make sure it went as smoothly as possible without each state making random rules. However, over the years the interpretation of “regulate Commerce” and “among the several states” has been completely changed from what the founding father have intended; hence giving the federal government a lot more power and removing that power from the states. Today, the federal government not only regulates commerce “among the several states” but it also regulates commerce on things that can affect commerce itself. One example would be the case Gonzales v. Raich. In this case the argument was whether California residents can grow medical marijuana since the use of medical marijuana is legal in the state. 2 The court’s decision was that it was illegal to grow medical marijuana for medical use even though the actual use of it is legal in the state. This decision should never have gone up to the federal government and instead stayed at the state level as growing medical marijuana for personal medical use has nothing to do with the “commerce” the founding fathers were thinking of.
Another area where the state’s power has decreased and the federal government’s has increased is in education. The Constitution states that “powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”3 With that said, education should be controlled by the states and not by the federal government. Yet, the federal government has created the Department of Education which monitors the educational system and provides “solutions” that that the federal government believes are necessary. Such a program shows “the historical development of the Federal role in education as a kind of ‘emergency response system,’ a means of filling gaps in State and local support for education when critical national needs arise.”4 Yes, it is true that America’s educational system is not the best, but completely ignoring the Constitution in the fact that individual states have complete authority when it comes to education, is going a bit over the top. If the founding fathers would have wanted for the federal government to control education, they would have clearly written that out in the Constitution. It’s also true that the Department of Education has provided a lot of help, but at the same time it took power away from the states since education should be in their jurisdiction.
Another topic that has been a big debate over the years is the debate over gay marriage and whether it is constitutional. Since marriage at all is not listed anywhere in the constitution, it should technically fall under the control of states and have nothing to do with the federal government. Yet, “congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996, which bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows states to do the same.”5 Congress should have never gotten involved in this situation at all. The states have full jurisdiction when it comes to marriage and having congress get involved just looks like they completely ignored the Constitution. If the states want to ban gay marriage then that’s all on them, but having the federal government get involved in something that doesn’t even concern them seems like they are trying to control people’s personal business.
The “war” between the powers of the federal government and the state’s has been evident in a lot of issues.
When the founding fathers drafted the Constitution, they made sure to give the federal government certain powers and the same for the states. Yet overtime, the Constitution has been interpreted in different ways hence giving the federal government more power than it was originally intended to have. At the same time the states have lost some of its power as the federal government gained jurisdiction over certain things.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Constitution of the United States." The National Archives and Records Administration. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html (accessed December 27, 2011).
Dennis, Russell. The Role of the State Government In Public Education. http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/edu/ed370/staterole.html (accessed December 27, 2011).
"Same-Sex Marriage." National Conference of State Legislatures. http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=16430 (accessed December 27, 2011).
"The Federal Role in Education." US Department of Education. http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/role.html (accessed December 27, 2011).
Verbruggen, Robert. "Scalia and the Commerce Clause ." http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/259267/scalia-and-commerce-clause-robert-verbruggen (accessed December 27,
2011).
When the founding fathers drafted the Constitution, they were trying to make an “equal” government where the federal government doesn’t have all control. In order to do that, they delegated certain responsibilities to the states and to the federal government. On the issues that were not covered in the Constitution, the states would take control and make their own laws. What the founding fathers didn’t consider though is how people would interpret the Constitution years after it was drafted. The federal government’s power has increased in relation to that of the states because of such interpretations.
The Commerce Clause which is located in Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution gives the federal government …show more content…
the power “to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.”1 The founding fathers originally only meant for this clause to help regulate trade and make sure it went as smoothly as possible without each state making random rules. However, over the years the interpretation of “regulate Commerce” and “among the several states” has been completely changed from what the founding father have intended; hence giving the federal government a lot more power and removing that power from the states. Today, the federal government not only regulates commerce “among the several states” but it also regulates commerce on things that can affect commerce itself. One example would be the case Gonzales v. Raich. In this case the argument was whether California residents can grow medical marijuana since the use of medical marijuana is legal in the state. 2 The court’s decision was that it was illegal to grow medical marijuana for medical use even though the actual use of it is legal in the state. This decision should never have gone up to the federal government and instead stayed at the state level as growing medical marijuana for personal medical use has nothing to do with the “commerce” the founding fathers were thinking of.
Another area where the state’s power has decreased and the federal government’s has increased is in education. The Constitution states that “powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”3 With that said, education should be controlled by the states and not by the federal government. Yet, the federal government has created the Department of Education which monitors the educational system and provides “solutions” that that the federal government believes are necessary. Such a program shows “the historical development of the Federal role in education as a kind of ‘emergency response system,’ a means of filling gaps in State and local support for education when critical national needs arise.”4 Yes, it is true that America’s educational system is not the best, but completely ignoring the Constitution in the fact that individual states have complete authority when it comes to education, is going a bit over the top. If the founding fathers would have wanted for the federal government to control education, they would have clearly written that out in the Constitution. It’s also true that the Department of Education has provided a lot of help, but at the same time it took power away from the states since education should be in their jurisdiction.
Another topic that has been a big debate over the years is the debate over gay marriage and whether it is constitutional. Since marriage at all is not listed anywhere in the constitution, it should technically fall under the control of states and have nothing to do with the federal government. Yet, “congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996, which bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows states to do the same.”5 Congress should have never gotten involved in this situation at all. The states have full jurisdiction when it comes to marriage and having congress get involved just looks like they completely ignored the Constitution. If the states want to ban gay marriage then that’s all on them, but having the federal government get involved in something that doesn’t even concern them seems like they are trying to control people’s personal business.
The “war” between the powers of the federal government and the state’s has been evident in a lot of issues.
When the founding fathers drafted the Constitution, they made sure to give the federal government certain powers and the same for the states. Yet overtime, the Constitution has been interpreted in different ways hence giving the federal government more power than it was originally intended to have. At the same time the states have lost some of its power as the federal government gained jurisdiction over certain things.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Constitution of the United States." The National Archives and Records Administration. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html (accessed December 27, 2011).
Dennis, Russell. The Role of the State Government In Public Education. http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/edu/ed370/staterole.html (accessed December 27, 2011).
"Same-Sex Marriage." National Conference of State Legislatures. http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=16430 (accessed December 27, 2011).
"The Federal Role in Education." US Department of Education. http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/role.html (accessed December 27, 2011).
Verbruggen, Robert. "Scalia and the Commerce Clause ." http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/259267/scalia-and-commerce-clause-robert-verbruggen (accessed December 27,
2011).