Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: inquest
tacticalogic keeps bringing out that 1829 letter from Madison to Cabell in an attempt to support his point that the commerce clause was meant only to encourage trade.

If you read the complete text, you'll find that this letter was a response from Madison to a question raised by Cabel.

Cabel was wondering if he could tax imports, not to raise money, but to encourage local manufacturing. In other words, if the commerce clause power to regulate commerce with foreign nations included the power to tax to favor local goods over imports. The exact question:

"It is a simple question under the Constitution of the U. S. whether "the power to regulate trade with foreign nations" as a distinct & substantive item in the enumerated powers, embraces the object of encouraging by duties restrictions and prohibitions the manufactures & products of the Country?"

Madison basically said, sure, everybody else does it, without exception.

I agree with Madison.

161 posted on 12/18/2004 9:09:07 AM PST by robertpaulsen
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 155 | View Replies ]


To: robertpaulsen
You've just inducted yourself into the ranks of Michael Moore. You know perfectly well that the letter you linked to referred to commerce with foreign nations, whereas the letter tl cited at #88 referred to interstate commerce. Madison explicitly states in that second letter that he was distinguishing between the two, and that the comments that he made in his first letter (which he explicitly referenced in the second) should not be taken to apply to interstate commerce.

This isn't the first time this has been explained to you, so why are you being so dishonest about it?

163 posted on 12/18/2004 9:22:58 AM PST by inquest (Now is the time to remove the leftist influence from the GOP. "Unity" can wait.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 161 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson