President Jefferson hesitated in
submitting the Louisiana Purchase treaty because he did not want to
violate the Constitutional power granted to him. He was aware that the
Constitution does not specifically allow him to buy land or territory from a foreign
power.
The "elastic clause<span>" has its name because it states that the United States </span>Congress <span>has the </span>power<span> "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper," which refers to a loose jurisdiction. </span>The term<span> refers to Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.</span>