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Rebecca George

Federalist No. 30 is an essay by Alexander Hamilton, the thirtieth of The Federalist Papers. It was published on December 28, 1787 under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all The Federalist Papers were published. This is the first of seven essays by Hamilton on the then-controversial issue of taxation. It is titled, "Concerning the General Power of Taxation."

Brief Precis
Hamilton details that taxes are extremely important to our government. Hamilton believes that the power to collect taxes deemed necessary is crucial for the government. Hamilton then details the differences between internal and external taxes. He argues that the federal government needs a power of taxation equal to its necessities, both present and future. External taxes alone cannot provide enough revenue for a government as extensive as the one proposed, especially in a time of war.

History
Federalist No. 30 is an important paper that was much needed during the latter part of the 1700s. Since America had just won the American Revolution, the country needed to find a way to set up a system for the financial situation. Hamilton was worried that the people would not appreciate the taxes. However, he believes that taxes are necessary in order to make the citizens happy.

James Madison seemed to have had an issue with who got the power of taxation. He did not believe that the legislative branch had the right to tax to contribute in helping the welfare.

Current Issues
Recently, Senator Ted Cruz and others believed that they had the power to limit the government from spending an excessive amount. However, Federalist No. 30 was able to prove this idea wrong because Alexander Hamilton had intended for the Constitution to first pay back the debts that America owned. This means that the government would be able to spend more money in order to pay back the debts.