The necessary and proper clause, also known as the elastic clause, pertains to Article I Section 8 of the US Constitution.
The clause served as a measure of contention between the Democratic-Republican party followers and the Federalists, who claimed more powers and limited powers for the federal government, respectively.
The first practical example of the contention exercised by this clause took place in 1791, when Hamilton made use of the clause to claim that the creation of the First Bank of the United States was backed by the Constitution, and this became the first bank which was created at a federal level in the US Nation.
Madison expressed the concerns of the Southeners, worried that the fortunes from the North would use the structure of the new bank to exploit their lands. Madison stated that the Congress did not have the constitutional legitimacy to create a bank. He was replied by Hamilton, who argued that the bank was a reasonable instrument in order to coordinate taxation and the borrowing of funds at a suprastate level. Therefore he claimed that, in view of the clause, this action was necessary to carry out duties that were absolutely necessary as established in the US Constitution.
