The Second Amendment Preservation Act: Revealing the Realities of Congress’s Commerce Clause Power

Abstract

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” When James Madison published this in the Federalist Papers, the United States Constitution was not even a year old. The Framers were striving to convince American citizens of the Constitution’s vitality while simultaneously grappling with the challenges of developing what the new government, as to be set forth in the Constitution, should look like. The challenge, as identified by Madison, was that the government needed the power to govern while retaining the ability to control itself. The Framers sought to address this problem by creating a system of federalism. But rather than adopting a particular section or provision dedicated to federalism, the Framers interwove federalism principles throughout the Constitution. These principles continue to permeate the functioning of the federal government and state governments today