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Full-Text Articles in Legal History

The Agency Law Origins Of The Necessary And Proper Clause, Robert G. Natelson Jan 2004

The Agency Law Origins Of The Necessary And Proper Clause, Robert G. Natelson

Robert G. Natelson

This is the first of several writings by the author on the original meaning of the Constitution's Necessary and Proper Clause. It explains part of the legal background of the Clause, identifies it as a recital (not an independent grant of power) of the 18th century doctrine of incidental powers, and explains the content of that doctrine. The article has since been updated and supplemented by the author's signed chapters in Lawson, Miller, Natelson & Seidman, The Origins of the Necessary and Proper Clause (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2010).


The General Welfare Clause And The Public Trust: An Essay In Original Understanding, Robert G. Natelson Jan 2004

The General Welfare Clause And The Public Trust: An Essay In Original Understanding, Robert G. Natelson

Robert G. Natelson

This article explains the original meaning/understanding of the Constitution's General Welfare Clause, including the scope of the taxing and spending power granted to Congress


The Proper Scope Of The Police Power, Randy E. Barnett Jan 2004

The Proper Scope Of The Police Power, Randy E. Barnett

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In this Article, I will contend that the Constitution is not really silent at all on the proper scope of state powers; that the original meaning of what the Constitution says requires that state powers over their citizens have fairly easy to identify limits - though as with most constitutional provisions, applying these limits to particular cases requires judgment and is not a matter of strict deductive logic. This account will require me to briefly review the method of interpretation I advocate - original meaning originalism-and its limits. These limits require that interpretation of original meaning be implemented by means …