Judicial activism

?PAGE ? ?PAGE ?8? seq NL1 \r 0 \h Chapter 16 SEQ NLI \r 0 \h I?? seq NLA \r 0 \h . Introduction Alexander Hamilton saw the courts as being ?the least dangerous? branch of government because it could not ?command the sword? as the president, nor ?command the purse strings? like Congress. By the middle of the 19th century, the Supreme Court had begun to declare many federal and scores of state laws to be unconstitutional. Necessary and proper clause, elastic clause, abortion laws and so on. Courts have become not the least dangerous, but the most powerful. II. Judicial Review SEQ NLA \r 0 \h judicial review--The power of courts to declare laws unconstitutional.