United States Department of Health and Human Services

?PAGE ? ?PAGE ?7? seq NL1 \r 0 \h Chapter 17 Outline SEQ NLI \r 0 \h INTRODUCTION To promote the general welfare: Framers Madison and Hamilton debated on the meaning of the phrase general welfare which is contained in the preamble to the?Constitution. Madison favored a more restrictive interpretation arguing Congress should only tax and spend to support specific functions as stated in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Hamilton favored a more expansive position arguing that the phrase meant that the government could tax and spend to support any national need. The national economic emergency resulting from the Great Depression led to the passage of Social Security Act of 1935.