Corona Constitution Class, Instructor: Douglas V. Gibbs
Topic: Article I, Section 10 - State Prohibitions
- Prohibitions to the States
The
articles in the U.S. Constitution all apply to the federal government unless
otherwise noted. Article I, Section 10,
notes otherwise. Each clause begins with
the words “No State shall,” making Article I, Section 10 prohibitive to the
States.
Article
I, Section 10, Clause 1 begins by disallowing the States to enter into any
treaty, alliance, or Confederation. The
goal was to keep the union intact, have all dealings with foreign governments
go through the federal government, and to ensure there was no divided loyalties
among the States. Treaties and alliances
are external issues.
The
disallowance of the States entering into a confederation was the argument used
against the Confederacy during the American Civil War. President Lincoln considered the southern
states seceding and joining into a confederation to be unlawful, partly due to
this clause in the Constitution.
However, by seceding, the States no longer fell under the jurisdiction
of the Constitution, making the Confederacy a legal arrangement.
No
State could grant letters of Marque and Reprisal, or coin money. These authorities were granted to the federal
government in Article I, Section 8.
States were not allowed to coin money so that they would not use
currency as a means to gain an unfair advantage over each other in relation to
interstate commerce.
Article
I, Section 10 prohibits the States from emitting bills of credit. Bills of credit take two forms. Bills of credit are receipts for currency,
such as a treasury note, and bills of credit can be items of credit such as
bonds. What this means is that the States
could not issue paper money, nor could States issue instruments of debt. In other words, the States were not allowed
to borrow money. Today, all but two
States of the union are in debt. The
State deficits are in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
The
States were also disallowed from passing bills of attainder, ex post facto law,
or passing any law that would impair the obligation of contracts. The States, as the federal government, could
not issue any title of Nobility. Ex post
facto law has become a large concern in recent politics. Ex post facto law is retroactive law. By disallowing the passage of ex post facto
law, the States (just like the federal government) cannot constitutionally pass
laws retroactively. A gun legal at the
time of purchase cannot be made retroactively illegal. Immigrants who entered the State illegally
cannot be made retroactively legal. A
tax cannot be retroactively imposed, creating a sudden large balance of tax
due.
States
are allowed to tax imports or exports, but only with the consent of
Congress. Because States are tasked with
having their own inspection laws, any costs necessary for executing those
inspection laws may be recouped through imposts or Duties without the consent
of Congress.
“The
net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State on imports or exports,
shall be for the use of the Treasury of the United States.” In other words, the States cannot over tax
imports and exports. They are only to
charge taxes necessary to cover their costs, such as “executing inspection
laws.” Any net produce, or what would be
considered “profit” in the private sector, goes to the U.S. Treasury. All of the States inspection laws, or other
laws regarding imports and exports, are also subject to revision and control by
the Congress.
Having
a military is also forbidden to the States in time of peace, except with the
consent of Congress. However, if a State
is invaded, or the State feels they are in imminent danger, they are allowed to
form a military. Currently, 23 States
have State Defense Forces, or “State Militias.”
In recent years, State Defense Forces have proven vital to homeland
security and emergency response efforts.
Questions
for Discussion:
1. What does the various prohibitions to the
States have in common?
2. How do the prohibitions to the States relate
to concepts like the Tenth Amendment?
Resources:
21st-Century
Militia: State Defense Forces and Homeland Security, Heritage Foundation: http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/10/The-21st-Century-Militia-State-Defense-Forces-and-Homeland-Security
Madison’s
Notes on the Constitutional Convention, Avalon Project, Yale University: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/debcont.asp
UNITED
STATES v. COMSTOCK (No. 08-1224), Clarence Thomas Dissenting Opinion (State
Sovereignty): http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-1224.ZD.html
(2010)
No comments:
Post a Comment