Federalist Papers
I have been revisiting the Federalist Papers. I find them difficult to read and I find myself re-reading them to get the finer points. When in 2025, you read the founding fathers rationale of why the states should adopt the provisions included in the Constitution, several things jump out at you. It is obvious (the proof is in the pudding) that the safeguards put into the Constitution against overreach by the federal government simply did not work. Furthermore, the idea that states would not send anyone to Washington who wasn’t a man of honor and integrity also leaves this author extremely disappointed and I’m sure the founding fathers would be equally disappointed. So… What went wrong? How did we get from a federal government that had very little revenue and even less impact on the everyday lives of the people to the out-of-control monstrosity that is has become? I’d entertain any explanations at this point.
Rolf Lindgren offered this historical perspective.
How the Constitution was changed in 1913
In 1912, the federal budget was just 1.75% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is a tiny central government. With a current GDP of about $30 trillion, that would be like having a federal budget today of just $525 billion, instead of the actual $7 trillion.
In other words, our Founding Fathers created a central government that wasn’t any bigger (in ratio to the size of the economy) in 1912 than it was 135 years earlier under the Articles of Confederation during the Revolutionary War.
But then came 1913, when President Woodrow Wilson took office. Under his watch, the 16th Amendment legalized the income tax, and the 17th consolidated the central government by removing the state’s power to select US Senators.
The income tax permitted a massive increase in government taxes and gave the federal government the power to track the income of every person and entity. If I had been alive in 1913 and told about the income tax, I would have wondered, “How the heck would they know how much money I make?”
The direct election of Senators (Amendment 17) was even worse than the income tax. It took the state governments completely out of the federal power structure. Henceforth, US Senators were not loyal to state legislators and started voting for things not authorized by the Constitution. Even worse, the Senate began to to confirm US Supreme Court Justices who were not loyal to state constitutional prerogatives. The biggest item here was obliviating the interstate commerce clause which by the 1930s meant Congress could pass any law and then claim they were “regulating”.
To say it another way, prior to 1913, the federal government did not regulate retail sales, manufacturing, education, agriculture, insurance, or almost anything.
The Federalist Papers were correct, the original Constitution kept our central government small.
By Rolf Lindgren
About the Author
I will make the world safe for democracy!
Great Summary….
That was super interesting! I doubt that many people know this history–thanks, Rolf!