Constitution Essentials: The General Welfare Clause

Originally recorded 11-19-2009:

Rob Natelson, a leading expert on the framing and adoption of the United States Constitution, offers a lesson on the general Welfare clause. He discusses the original meaning of the words themselves, the meaning of “general welfare” in the preamble, and the original meaning and understanding of the clause.

He also explains the taxing clause, the Hamiltonian vs the Madisonian view, anti-federalist concerns, modern interpretations, court cases which have turned its meaning upside down, practical reasons for a limiting view of the clause and the Constitution as a whole, and more.

Mentioned in this Show

Federalist #41

United States v Butler

Korematsu v. United States

More from Rob Natelson:

Are Campaign Finance Laws Constitutional?

Is ObamaCare Constitutional?

Claiming Almost Everything is “Commerce”

Tenth Amendment Center

The Tenth Amendment Center is a national think tank that works to preserve and protect the principles of strictly limited government through information, education, and activism. The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of state and individual sovereignty issues, focusing primarily on the decentralization of federal government power as required by the Constitution. For more information visit the Tenth Amendment Center Blog.