Loose Construction

When the Constitution of the United States was first drafted, life was simply different. Not as many people were as educated as they are today, and politicians had to be the voices of the people; the big people and the small people. Farmers needed just as much say in the government as factory owners, and politicians gave them that opportunity. Over time, society changed. We industrialized. Technology, education, labor forces, and every other aspect of America advanced. With these changes, there had to be a way in which those same politicians who we put our trust in, would be able to modify the foundations of the country. (In other words, the Constitution.) Through loose construction, the early leaders of the United States were able to improve aspects of the Constitution, which eventually improved the overall life of the American citizens. Now today, the constitution is interpreted loosely.

In the Constitution's necessary and proper clause, congress is given the power to create new laws that they find, well, necessary and proper. So, if our politicians think something needs to be changed, and think of a law that could accomplish that change, they ultimately have the authority to compose such a law. This authorization is given to congress in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18 of the Constitution which says that congress has the justification "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof."

The necessary and proper clause has also been put to use in the judicial branch of the American government. In 1819, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of loose construction in the McCulloch vs. Maryland lawsuit. In this case, the Maryland legislature placed a substantial tax on the operations of the Baltimore branch of the Bank of the United States. The