HKB
The Borrowing Power
The original draft of the Constitution reported to the convention by its Committee of Detail empowered Congress "To borrow money and emit bills on the credit of the United States."[303] When this section was reached in the debates, Gouverneur Morris moved to strike out the clause "and emit bills on the credit of the United States." Madison suggested that it might be sufficient "to prohibit the making them a tender." After a spirited exchange of views on the subject of paper money the convention voted, nine States to two, to delete the words "and emit bills."[304] Nevertheless, in 1870, the Court relied in part upon this clause in holding that Congress had authority to issue treasury notes and to make them legal tender in satisfaction of antecedent debts.[305] When it borrows money "on the credit of the United States" Congress creates a binding obligation to pay the debt as stipulated and cannot thereafter vary the terms of its agreement. A law purporting to abrogate a clause in government bonds calling for payment in gold coin was held to contravene this clause, although the creditor was denied a remedy in the absence of a showing of actual damage.[306]
Clause 3. The Congress shall have power * * * To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.
Purpose of the Clause
This clause serves a two-fold purpose: it is the direct source of the most important powers which the National Government exercises in time of peace: and, except for the due process of law clause of Amendment XIV, it is the most important limitation imposed by the Constitution on the exercise of State power. The latter, or restrictive, operation of the clause was long the more important one from the point of view of Constitutional Law. Of the approximately 1400 cases which reached the Supreme Court under the clause prior to 1900, the overwhelming proportion stemmed from State legislation.[307] It resulted that, with an important exception to be noted in a moment, the guiding lines in construction of the clause were initially laid down from the point of view of its operation as a curb on State power, rather than of its operation as a source of national power; and the consequence of this was that the word "commerce," as designating the thing to be protected against State interference, came to dominate the clause, while the word "regulate" remained in the background.
Definition of Terms: Gibbons v. Ogden
"COMMERCE"