Article l
Section X
Clause III
"No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.”
In this clause, the Constitution highlights the power denied to the States. Such limitations prohibits States from entering in any treaties with each other and other countries- this allowing the President of the United States to be solely responsible for managing all foreign affairs. The States are not allowed to have their own armies or go into war with each other. Furthermore, they may not keep warships in times of peace and they may not engage in war unless it has been invaded or is in impending danger. This clause prohibits the United States from engaging in war unless its people are in danger also protecting foreign countries. I believe this clause was set forward by the Founding Fathers’ prediction of America's power. It protects states from each other and foreign countries from the power of the United States.
I chose this specific passage because as I read it my memory traveled back to September 11, 2001. During the early morning hours the public was not aware of the danger our country was facing. Even after the attacks there were moments of uncertainty and a lot of questions were in the air. The most important of them all..”Who would do this?.” Once the smoke cleared it was undeniably obvious that these attacks were executed by terrorists. I remember reading *many Americans were opposed to the war however it was a war we were forced into by terror groups who despise America and challenge its power. This clause allows America to declare war on its aggressors. Although the majority of Americans continue to oppose the war against Afghanistan, it is in the duties of the President to protect the country, as the constitution states, as it faces danger. America’s power spill entirely onto other countries and therefore should limited as this clause states. However, it is important to remember we must defend our country from the dangers of these terorrists who have expressed, time and time again, to have no mercy on our people.
* http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/30/63-percent-of-american-public-opposes-war-afghanistan_n_802765.html
If you look at the beginning of the country's history, you can see that the power of the government has grown a lot since the early days. This passage shows how that development was already underway, and how the powers given under the Constitution went way beyond the Articles of Confederation. The era we live in since 9/11 has definitely seen is power grow more as well. Another important thing to note is that Congress is given the power to declare war, but since World War II Congress has not declared war, and since then, the power of the President has become more independent.
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