Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4 (Bankruptcy)



Document 2

Abraham Baldwin, Uniform Bankruptcy, House of Representatives

15 Jan. 1799Annals 9:2670--71

But it is insisted on, said Mr. B., by some gentlemen, that as the power to pass uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcy is expressly given to Congress by the Constitution, it is their duty to do it; and some go as far as to say that it is not proper for the States to legislate on that subject. He thought there was no great weight in that argument. Congress not having passed such a law for these ten years past, and the States having legislated upon it in their own way, is a sufficient proof that that has not been the understanding of the Constitution.


The Founders' Constitution
Volume 2, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4 (Bankruptcy), Document 2
http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/a1_8_4_bankruptcys2.html
The University of Chicago Press

Annals of Congress. The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States. "History of Congress." 42 vols. Washington, D.C.: Gales & Seaton, 1834--56.

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