The Powers of Congress Quick Check

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Question
Use the excerpt to answer the question.

“What is a power, but the ability or faculty of doing a thing? What is the ability to do a thing, but the power of employing the MEANS necessary to its execution? What is a LEGISLATIVE power, but a power of making LAWS? What are the MEANS to execute a LEGISLATIVE power but LAWS? What is the power of laying and collecting taxes, but a LEGISLATIVE POWER, or a power of MAKING LAWS, to lay and collect taxes? What are the proper means of executing such a power, but NECESSARY and PROPER laws?”

Which of the following best summarizes this quote from Federalist, no. 33?

(1 point)
Responses

Expressed powers are necessary for a government to function because Congress needs a certain amount of power.
Expressed powers are necessary for a government to function because Congress needs a certain amount of power.

The elastic clause would not create a tyrannical government, but enable the government to perform basic functions crucial for its effectiveness.
The elastic clause would not create a tyrannical government, but enable the government to perform basic functions crucial for its effectiveness.

Allowing for implied powers by adding the elastic clause could potentially take power away from the executive branch.
Allowing for implied powers by adding the elastic clause could potentially take power away from the executive branch.

The elastic clause would create a tyrannical government and should not be part of the Constitution.

The best summary of this quote from Federalist, no. 33 is: The elastic clause would not create a tyrannical government, but enable the government to perform basic functions crucial for its effectiveness.

The elastic clause would create a tyrannical government and should not be part of the Constitution.

To answer this question, we need to analyze the provided quote from Federalist, no. 33. The quote discusses the concept of powers and means necessary for execution. It emphasizes that legislative power is the power to make laws and that the means to execute legislative power are necessary and proper laws.

From this quote, we can infer that the main idea is about the necessity of expressed powers for a government to function effectively. This understanding aligns with the first answer choice: "Expressed powers are necessary for a government to function because Congress needs a certain amount of power."

To summarize, the best summary of the quote is that expressed powers are necessary for a government to function because Congress needs a certain amount of power. Therefore, the correct answer is the first response: "Expressed powers are necessary for a government to function because Congress needs a certain amount of power."