Treaties

Treaties, Alliances, or Confederations (Powers Denied to the States)

At the time of the Civil War, the Court relied on the prohibition on treaties, alliances, or confederations in holding that the Confederation formed by the seceding states could not be recognized as having any legal existence.1 Today, the prohibition's practical significance lies in the limitations that it implies upon the power of the states to deal with matters having a bearing upon international relations.

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In the early case of Holmes v. Jennison,2 Chief Justice Taney invoked it as a reason for holding that a state had no power to deliver up a fugitive from justice to a foreign state. More recently, the kindred idea that the responsibility for the conduct of foreign relations rests exclusively with the Federal Government prompted the Court to hold that, because the oil under the three-mile marginal belt along the California coast might well become the subject of international dispute, and because the ocean, including this threemile belt, is of vital consequence to the nation in its desire to engage in commerce and to live in peace with the world, the Federal Government has paramount rights in and power over that belt, including full dominion over the resources of the soil under the water area.3 In Skiriotes v. Florida,4 the Court, on the other hand, ruled that this clause did not disable Florida from regulating the manner in which its own citizens may engage in sponge fishing outside its territorial waters. Speaking for a unanimous Court, Chief Justice Hughes declared, “When its action does not conflict with federal legislation, the sovereign authority of the State over the conduct of its citizens upon the high seas is analogous to the sovereign authority of the United States over its citizens in like circumstances.” 5

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References

This text about Treaties is based on “The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation”, published by the U.S. Government Printing Office.

[Footnote 1] Williams v. Bruffy, 96 U.S. 176, 183 (1878).

[Footnote 2] 39 U.S. (14 Pet.) 540 (1840).

[Footnote 3] United States v. California, 332 U.S. 19 (1947).

[Footnote 4] 313 U.S. 69 (1941).

[Footnote 5] 313 U.S. at 78-79.

Tables of Contents

• Treaties and other Topics in the Contents – Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution
• U.S. Constitutional Law Category
• List of amendments to the U.S. Constitution
• Treaties and other Topics in the Constitution Contents
• Interpretation of the U.S. Constitution (Table of Contents)
• Clauses of the Constitution (Table of Contents)

Clause 2. Treaties and Appointment of Officers (President Duties)

Constitutional Text: He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Court of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

Resources

References

This text about Treaties is based on “The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation”, published by the U.S. Government Printing Office.