ABSTRACT
The defects of the Articles of Confederation convinced the Framers of the Constitution that the United States needed a substantially stronger national government. In the absence of a national commerce power, states taxed goods that were in transit for sale in other states and devised regulations to protect local producers from out-of-state competition, thereby impeding the flow of commerce and producing a stagnant national economy. Since the 1930s, Congress has used the provisions to justify legislation affecting virtually every aspect of American life. For almost a century after the Founding, the national commerce power was not a major issue, because Congress enacted little commercial legislation. During the twentieth century, debate focused on congressional use of the taxing power to reach activities it could not otherwise regulate. The Framers gave Congress the power to tax so that the national government could raise the revenue necessary to finance its operations.
