Actually the Constitution lays out what the federal government can do (and ALL it can do). If it listed what it can’t do, it would be a very long document.
If it listed what it can’t do, it would be a very long document
Ah, but it does specify things the government can’t do. Most notably in the bill of rights. Madison famously objected to officially denying powers that weren’t enumerated in the first place. But there are issues that we think are too dang important to leave unsaid. Furthermore, there are denied powers in the articles before the amendments, as well. For instance, the government is not allowed to grant titles. Nor is it allowed to withhold habeas corpus except for times of civil unrest and/or invasion.