The oldest constitutional question : enumeration and federal power / Richard Primus.

The oldest constitutional question : enumeration and federal power / Richard Primus.

Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2025.

©2025

xii, 436 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

"Every law student learns that the federal government is a government of enumerated powers, meaning that Congress can only do the limited set of things that the Constitution expressly authorizes it to do. Longstanding orthodoxy says that this principle is required by the text of the Constitution, was an essential part of the Framers' vision, and plays a central role in American federalism. But this is a flawed understanding. It misreads the Constitution, distorts constitutional history, and relies on a false picture of how American federalism actually works. Most constitutional lawyers recognize that in practice, the enumeration of powers does little to limit Congress. Yet most of them (including many Justices of the Supreme Court) think this means something has gone wrong in constitutional law, such that the courts should be more aggressive about striking down federal laws as exceeding the enumerated powers. But as Richard Primus shows in this meticulous, detailed analysis-examining the text of the Constitution, the history of its drafting and ratification, and the structure of federalism-that perspective is a mistake. The constitutional system does limit Congress, and crucially so, in order to protect individual rights and to maintain a system where a lot of decision-making happens at the state and local levels rather than nationally. But the enumeration of congressional powers is not, and never has been, the means for creating and enforcing those limits"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

KF4600 .P76 2025

English

0674293592 hardcover
9780674293595 hardcover