Missouri v. Holland
Citation and Court
252 U.S. 416 (1920). United States Supreme Court. Justice Holmes, writing for the Court (7-2).
Facts
Congress passed the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 to implement a treaty between the United States and Great Britain (on behalf of Canada) protecting migratory birds. The Act restricted the hunting and killing of migratory birds during breeding and migration seasons. Missouri sued Ray Holland, a U.S. Game Warden, seeking to prevent enforcement of the Act and regulations issued under it. Missouri argued that the regulation of migratory birds was a matter reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment, and that Congress lacked the power to regulate it directly. Earlier federal statutes regulating migratory birds without treaty basis had been struck down by lower courts.
Issue
Does Congress have the constitutional power, through the Necessary and Proper Clause and the Treaty Clause, to implement a migratory bird treaty in ways that might exceed Congress’s independent legislative power under Article I?
Holding
Yes. The treaty power in Article II, Section 2 is not limited by the Tenth Amendment’s reservation of powers to the states. Congress may enact legislation necessary and proper to implement a valid treaty, even if Congress could not otherwise legislate in the same area without the treaty.
Rule / Doctrine
Treaty Power Not Bounded by Tenth Amendment: The constitutional grants of power to make treaties and to legislate to implement them are not limited by the Tenth Amendment. A valid treaty — one dealing with a matter of legitimate international concern — confers implementing power on Congress that extends beyond the enumerated Article I powers. Justice Holmes’s famous aphorism: “Acts of Congress are the supreme law of the land only when made in pursuance of the Constitution, while treaties are declared to be so when made under the authority of the United States.” The Tenth Amendment reserves to states only what has not been delegated to the national government, and the treaty power was delegated.
Significance
Missouri v. Holland is the foundational treaty power case. It establishes that the treaty power, combined with the Necessary and Proper Clause, gives the federal government broad authority to legislate on matters that would otherwise be within state control. The decision has significant implications for the scope of congressional power to implement international obligations and has been cited in discussions about human rights treaties and other international agreements. Constitutional scholars continue to debate whether Reid v. Covert (1957) and other cases limit Holland’s reach.