Congress: Enumerated Powers - The Foundation of the Constitution, Art. I, Section 8

Patriot Lessons: American History and Civics (Constitution, Declaration of Independence, etc.)

Topics covered: The underlying foundation of the Constitution is the doctrine of enumerated powers. Enumerated powers means that the federal government only has the authority specifically granted to it in the Constitution - the powers must be expressed (that is enumerated). All powers not granted to the federal government, remain with the States. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution details the powers given to the federal government. Nearly all the drafters and ratifiers of the Constitution agreed that Congress and federal government should be limited to enumerated powers. The Anti-Federalists strongly opposed the Constitution because they believed that the powers that were given to the federal government were too broad and that the federal government would swallow up the States and destroy liberty. In other words, the Anti-Federalists thought that despite the doctrine of enumerated powers, the federal government was all powerful and unchecked. Check out PatriotWeek.org, Judge Warren's book at www.AmericasSurvivalGuide.com, and the Save our Republic! video series on Patriot Week's YouTube Channel. Support this podcast at: https://anchor.fm/michael-warren9