Section. 10.
No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it’s inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.
No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.
I am not your lawyer. This is not legal advice
So, what “best” powers do we “save until last” for Congress? Basically none. That, it turns out, was the previous section.
If you were to read this in a vacuum, it would look like a reservation of rights by the people, against the States, and it is. But remember from Section 1, this whole Article is couched as a grant of vested, legislative powers to Congress. So why is this stuff in this Article instead of, say, the Article about state’s rights? Good question.
So, this goes through the previous powers and limitations and picks out a bunch to apply to states. States can’t make treaties. States can’t sponsor piracy (letters of marque and reprisal). States can’t pass bills of attainder or ex post facto laws, cannot impair contractual obligations, and also cannot grant titles of nobility. So, even if the state recognized Emperor Norton, it wouldn’t have counted for much.
States can’t impose tarrifs or duties unless it’s an emergency, and even then very much at Congress’s whim.
And finally, states can’t make war, but they can defend if invaded.
Anyway, this marks the end of Article I. Pat yourself on the back! You’ve done more than most people. Although there are seven Articles and a preamble, eight parts in total, this is more than two eighths of the way through the document. And, once we get through the first three, they will just start to cruise by. Speaking of which, next week: Article Two!