Did James Madison, the father of the U.S. Constitution and primary author of the Bill of Rights, consider federal social welfare programs to be constitutional?
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Madison explicitly stated that it would be "an absurdity" to interpret the Constitution in a way that would allow the federal government to create social welfare programs. He also wrote that the powers of the federal government to "provide for the common Defense and general Welfare" are restricted to the 27 specific powers that follow this phrase in the Constitution (like coining money, raising armies, issuing patents, and enacting immigration laws).
DocumentationConstitutionality of Social Programs
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