美国建国初期商业公司授予权的归属与政府权力的划分

The Power of Chartering Business Corporations and the Division of Government Power in the Early United States

美国建国初期,绝大多数商业公司都由各州议会颁发特许状建立。不过,每当有人提议由国会授权建立商业公司时,都会引发争论和反对。反对者提出,国会没有被赋予建立商业公司的权力。建国精英对商业公司授予权归属的立场,在一定程度上反映了他们对于中央政府与各州政府权力范畴上的态度。特别是制宪会议之后,虽然联邦权威得到了加强,但宪法并没有在联邦与各州的权力上划定明确界限,联邦与各州在权力上不断博弈。在博弈中,各自权力的范畴,在于政治精英在面对具体问题时对公共利益的理解,以及对各种利益关系的衡量。

In the early republic, most of the business corporations chartered by state legislatures. Once some politicians suggested that federal government granted charters to business corporations, the suggestion always caused debates and opposition. The opponents thought congress did not have power to charter corporations. In some degree, the politicians＇ attitude toward the power to charter corporations revealed their position about the division of power between national government and state governments. After the Convention, federal government became more powerful than before, but there was no definite boundary between federal power and state power. The division of power between federal and state always caused conflicts. In the conflicts, the division of government power was depended on the understanding of public good in political elites＇ mind and balance of various interests.