How flexible is the US Constitution?

Codification

writing a constitution down in one document.

Entrenchment

a system by which

a constitution is protected from change by law

However, the Founding Fathers knew that there would need to be some mechanism for changing the Constitution to meet the changing needs of society - an amendment process - and this is outlined by in-article V.

The constitution is ' the first, shortest and longest lasting constitution'

Because it is such a brief document-one of it most important qualities is its 'Vagueness'

Given that the Constitution is the main guide for US politics, it is surprisingly short. There are many clearly enumerated powers, but the Constitution is often unclear. This is partly because it is a compromise between Founding Fathers who sometimes disagreed, and partly because there was a deliberate decision to allow room for the Constitution to evolve. However, this lack of clarity means there is often significant disagreement over its meaning.

Before looking at the clauses which are implied- let's looks at the powers and how they are divided.

The Constitution has many enumerated powers, (listed) However, many implied powers have been found in the Constitution too - powers that are not expressly written down in the Constitution but are needed to perform an enumerated power or are suggested by the wording.

Implied powers and the elastic clauses

Click this link for Implied powers explained

The 'necessary and proper' or elastic clause

Article I, section 8 of the Constitution it states that Congress has the power 'to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers'. This clause is also known as the 'elastic' clause because it allows Congress to stretch its powers. It has been a source of great controversy, being used to justify major expansion of the power of federal government. In McCulloch v Maryland 1819, the Supreme Court tested the necessary and proper clause and ruled that Congress has the power to create a national bank, even though the right to create a bank is not explicitly stated in the Constitution. It gave a broad interpretation using implied powers to allow Congress to act. The interstate commerce clause is often described as elastic because of the way in which it has been used to justify the expansion of federal power.

Another 'elastic clause is the Commerce Clause Article 1 section 8- This has been used to justify the government's power to regulate much of the economy.