MADISONCENTER FOR AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
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The Constitution,
connected.

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Discover the ideas that hold a republic together.

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The constitutional text

Article I · Section 10

Select any highlighted phrase to understand what it means.

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.

Source: National Constitution Center edition. Original wording is preserved; commentary explains historical and superseded provisions.

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You don’t have to understand everything at once. One connection is a good beginning.

LOOK A LITTLE CLOSER

Article I, Section 10, Clause 1b

States cannot license private hostilities

Current text
grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal;

What it means

States may not grant letters of marque and reprisal. The prohibition complements Congress’s express authority over those historical authorizations for armed action.

Historical setting

The Articles imposed conditions on state commissions for private vessels. The Constitution places the relevant power nationally to prevent separate states from initiating hostilities through private intermediaries.

What it does

A state cannot evade its limits on war-making by outsourcing attacks to private actors with state permission. Whether a modern arrangement resembles the historical category requires analysis rather than reliance on a dramatic label.

Debate & interpretation

The rule expresses a broader concern that consequences of armed action do not stop at the authorizing state’s border. Shared exposure to retaliation supports national control over the decision.

A common misreading

A state’s inability to declare its own foreign war cannot be circumvented simply by commissioning private citizens to carry it out.

Think it through

How could an apparently private armed action create public obligations and dangers for the entire country?

Follow the connection

Sources & further reading

Original Madison Center commentary. Explanations distinguish the text, historical context, and interpretive disagreements.

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