Speech #880006534

This clause appears twice in the Articles of Confederationfirst. in article III. which defines the broad purposes of the Articles of Confederation (and which would be transferred to the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States). and. second. in article VIII. where common defence or general welfare is used to define or limit the purposes for which Congress might spend money. The Virginia plan. written by Madison and introduced in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 by Edmund Randolph on May 29. consists of 15 paragraphs. The first of these declares that the Articles of Confederation should be corrected and enlarged so as to achieve its purpose. viz. "common defence. security of liberty. and general welfare." The sixth paragraph states that "the National Legislature ought to be empowered to enjoy the legislative rights vested in Congress by the Confederation and moreover to legislate in all cases to which the separate States are incompetent. or in which the harmony of the United States may be interrupted by the exercise of individual legislation. to negative all laws passed by the several States contravening in the opinion of the National Legislature the articles of Union. and to call forth the force of the Union against any member of the Union failing to fulfill its duty under the articles thereof." Six weeks earlier (April 16. 1787) Madison had written to Washington. "I would propose next that in addition to the present Federal powers. the National Government should be armed with positive and complete authority in all cases which require uniformity. such as the regulation of trade. including the right of taxing both exports and imports. the fixing the terms and forms of naturalization. etc.. etc." Judging from the record which he kept of the debates in the Convention. he sometimes appears in the heat of the discussions to advance to a more nationalistic position. but. in the main. I believe that he stood firmly on the position taken in his letter to Washington and in the Virginia plan. (See Madisons notes for May 31. June 13.