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Difficulty: EasyPolitics, Hamilton's Plan, and Foreign Policy in the New Republic

"I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: That 'all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the people.' To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition. The incorporation of a bank, and the powers assumed by this bill, have not, in my opinion, been delegated to the United States, by the Constitution."
—Thomas Jefferson, Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank, 1791

Which of the following disputes in the early United States is most directly reflected in this excerpt?

  1. The debate over whether the federal government possessed implied powers under the ConstitutionAnswer
  2. B
    The conflict over whether the national government should replace the Articles of Confederation with a new constitution
  3. C
    The disagreement over whether the United States should support France or Great Britain in their foreign war
  4. D
    The controversy over whether to establish a permanent standing national military during peacetime

Answer

The debate over whether the federal government possessed implied powers under the Constitution
The correct answer is correct because Thomas Jefferson's strict interpretation of the Constitution, emphasizing that only delegated powers belong to the federal government, was the foundation of the opposition to Alexander Hamilton's national bank, directly highlighting the debate over loose versus strict construction and the scope of federal power.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the author, date, and core subject of the source.
The source is Thomas Jefferson writing in 1791 regarding the creation of a national bank.
Placing the source in its historical context helps identify the political debates of the early Washington administration.
2
Analyze the constitutional argument presented in the text.
Jefferson quotes the Tenth Amendment to argue that powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states, concluding that creating a bank is unconstitutional because it is not explicitly listed.
This establishes that the conflict centers on how constitutional powers are interpreted and distributed.
3
Match the argument to the correct historical concept.
The conflict between strict construction (Jefferson) and loose construction (Hamilton) is a debate over implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause.
This links the specific textual argument to the broader debate over the scope of federal authority.

Key Concept

Strict versus Loose Interpretation of the Constitution
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Topics

Politics, Hamilton's Plan, and Foreign Policy in the New Republic

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