The Constitution and the Federalist

          In Federalist 23, Hamilton says this about the Union, the term used to describe the national government as representing all the states together: “The principal purposes to be answered by union are these--the common defense of the members; the preservation of the public peace, as well against internal convulsions as external attacks; the regulation of commerce with other nations and between the States; the superintendence of our intercourse, political and commercial, with foreign countries.” 

          For me the meaning of this passage is that the power to regulate interstate commerce is a critical one. Without commerce power , Congress could not pass policies ranging from protecting the environment and civil rights to providing health care for the elderly and the less fortune.

           I chose this paragraph simply because the Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate interstate and international commerce. American courts have spent many years trying to define "commerce" In 1824, the supreme court in deciding the case of GIBBONS v. OGDEN, defined commerce very broadly to encompass virtually every form of commercial activity. Today, commerce covers not only the movement of goods, but also the radio signals, electricity, telephone messages,  the internet, insurance transactions, and much more.