James Iredell, a former Delegate to the Constitutional Convention, at the North Carolina Ratification Convention of 1788, argues in favor of ratification of the proposed Constitution for the united States, seeking to assure his fellow delegates that:
But have we not sufficient security that those powers shall not be abused? The immediate power of the purse is in the immediate representatives of the people, chosen every two years, who can lay no tax on their constituents but what they are subject to at the same time themselves. The power of taxation must be vested somewhere. Do the committee wish it to be as it has been? Then they must suffer the evils which they have done. … No money will be collected but by means of military force. Under the new government, taxes will probably be much lighter than they can be under our present one. The impost will afford vast advantages, and greatly relieve the people from direct taxation. In time of peace, it is supposed by many, the imposts may be alone sufficient; but in the time of war, it cannot be expected they will. Our expenses would be much greater, and our ports might be blocked up by the enemy’s fleet. [emphasis added]
[added 8/1/2026]
Subsequent Events:
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References:
Irwin A. Schiff, The Great Income Tax Hoax: Why You Can Immediately Stop Paying This Illegally Enforced Tax, (Hamden, Connecticut: Freedom Books, 1985), 436.
Current U.s. National Debt:
