The National Bank That Breached the Articles of Confederation
Despite having no express authority to do so, Congress created a national bank under the Articles of Confederation by invoking an invented doctrine of “inherent sovereign authority.” The episode reveals that even under a framework built on explicit and limited...
Edmund Randolph vs the National Bank
After Congress passed a bill to establish the first national bank in early 1791, President George Washington asked Attorney General Edmund Randolph to prepare an opinion on the bill’s constitutionality. Randolph came down firmly against the measure, arguing that the...
Alexander Hamilton’s “Implied Powers” Wrecked the Constitution
During the ratification debates, supporters of the Constitution insisted that the new general government would only exercise the powers explicitly enumerated in the document. But less than three years after ratification, Alexander Hamilton did a complete 180, suddenly...