Elementary Catechism on the Constitution of the United States. For the Use of Schools.

by Arthur J. Stansbury

You have said that no Laws can be made for the United States, but by Congress; may Congress make any Laws they please? A. No. Their power is limited by the Constitution; that is, they have no power, but what the Constitution says they have. It must always be remembered, that the States, when they united to form the General Government, had full power to govern themselves; and that they gave up only a part of their power, for the general welfare. Whatever power, therefore, is not given by the Constitution, to the General Government, still belongs either to the State Governments, or to the people of the United States.