Exclusive Powers
Reserved Powers Concurrent Powers |
The Constitution of the United States spells out the exclusive powers of the Federal Government. These are powers that only the federal government can exercise and not the states.
1) The right to levy tariffs on imports and exports 2) The right to regulate trade between the United States and other countries and the trade between states 3) The right to coin money 4) The right to maintain armed forces 5) The right to declare war 6) The right to establish and maintain the postal system 7) The right to establish federal courts 8) The Right to Control Immigration Processes Example(The right to levy tariffs on imports and exports): How could we trade with other countries if the tax on Chiquita bananas from Central America was 20 cents in Florida, but 40 cents in Minnesota? Confusion would most definitely result. So the Framers of the Constitution did us a favor and clearly specified that this was an exclusive right of the national government. A state government, however, can charge a tax to cover the inspection of incoming goods, but that is the only thing that they can really tax. A political power that a constitution reserves exclusively to the jurisdiction of a particular political authority. (1) The Safety Valve Of The U.S. Constitution (2) Writing A Constitution (3) The 10th Amendment Example(Writing a Constitution): The issue of drivers' licenses. Whose job is that? Of course, we couldn't have expected the Founding Fathers to assign a power over a device that didn't exist in the 18th century. So how do we decide which level of government will handle that? Concurrent powers are powers shared by both states and the federal government. They are powers that are not exclusive to the state or federal government, but are held by both. (1) Impose Taxes (2) Borrow Money (3) Establish Lower Courts (4) Power to Have A Military (5) The Power to Convict People of Crimes And Hold Them In Jail (6) The Power to Build And Maintain Roads Example: tax day, April 15th |