“Few and Defined,” Really?

by | Feb 23, 2026

“Few and Defined,” Really?

by | Feb 23, 2026

The takings clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution places a limit (just compensation) on an implied power (eminent domain) that is not listed in Article I, Section 8. Thus, James Madison was less than candid when he said the national government’s powers were “few and defined.” A constitution containing “powers by implication” (another Madisonian phrase) cannot be a constitution of few powers. (See my America’s Counter-Revolution: The Constitution Revisited.)

Sheldon Richman

Sheldon Richman

Sheldon Richman is the former executive editor of The Libertarian Institute and a contributing editor at Antiwar.com. He is the former senior editor at the Cato Institute and Institute for Humane Studies; former editor of The Freeman, published by the Foundation for Economic Education; and former vice president at the Future of Freedom Foundation. His latest books are Coming to Palestine and What Social Animals Owe to Each Other.

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