Hamilton’s ends-means test determines constitutional authority of national government actions.

Evidence

In discussing the general powers of the national government, Hamilton identifies a criterion of what is constitutional, and of what is not so. This criterion is the end, to which the measure relates as a mean. If the end be clearly comprehended within any of the specified powers, and if the measure have an obvious relation to that end, and is not forbidden by any particular provision of the Constitution, it may safely be deemed to come within the compass of the national authority. — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 220

Categorization

• DEFINE: States Hamilton’s canonical test: an act is constitutional if its end falls within a specified power, the measure has an obvious relation to that end, and nothing in the Constitution forbids it.