A General Welfare clause is a section that appears in many constitutions, and in some cases in charters and statutes, which provides that the body empowered by the document may enact laws as it sees fit to promote the well-being of the people governed thereunder. Such clauses are generally interpreted as granting the state a power to regulate for the general welfare that is independent of other powers specified in the governing document.

The United States Constitution contains two references to "the General Welfare", one occurring in the Preamble and the other in the Taxing and Spending Clause. However, it is only the latter that is referred to as the "General Welfare Clause" of this document. Unlike most General Welfare clauses, however, the clause in the U.S. Constitution has been interpreted as a limitation on the power of the United States Congress to use its powers of taxing and spending. The narrow construction of the General welfare clause is unusual when compared to similar clauses in most State constitutions, and many constitutions of other countries. An international example is provided by a report from the Supreme Court of Argentina:

" In Ferrocarril Central Argentino c/Provincia de Santa Fe, 569 the Argentine Court held that the General Welfare clause of the Argentine Constitution offered the federal government a general source of authority for legislation affecting the provinces. The Court recognized that the United States utilized the clause only as a source of authority for federal taxation and spending, not for general legislation, but recognized differences in the two constitutions. "

Similarly, the general welfare provision of the Articles of Confederation which preceded the United States Constitution are expressly read as providing that government with a power to enact laws:

" Article III. The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever. "

With regards to the US Constitution:

In order to understand the General Welfare clause, you have to look at only two things. The first is the common definition of both general and welfare. The second is to which body or entity this clause applies.

Common Definitions:

General: "involving, applicable to, or affecting the whole"

Welfare: "the state of doing well especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity."

So, the Constitution states that the US government will promote the state of well being, happiness and prosperity for the whole. Those in defense of the expansion of Federal power (and what are now defined as Federal "welfare" programs and entitlement programs) stop there and are satisfied with this generic application of such a definition. However, in order to completely understand the meaning and intended purpose of this clause, you must define who or what makes up the "whole". In other words, to whom does the General Welfare clause apply?

Article 1, Section 8:

"The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;"

"In his famous Report on Manufactures (1791), Alexander Hamilton argued that the clause enlarged Congress's power to tax and spend by allowing it to tax and spend for the general welfare as well as for purposes falling within its enumerated powers. Thus, he argued, the General Welfare clause granted a distinct power to Congress to use its taxing and spending powers in ways not falling within its other enumerated powers.

The U. S. Supreme Court first interpreted the clause in United States v. Butler (1936). There, Justice Owen Roberts, in his majority opinion, agreed with Hamilton's view and held that the general welfare language in the taxing-and-spending clause constituted a separate grant of power to Congress to spend in areas over which it was not granted direct regulatory control. Nevertheless, the Court stated that this power to tax and spend was limited to spending for matters affecting the national, as opposed to the local, welfare. He also wrote that the Supreme Court should be the final source of what was in fact in the national welfare. In the Butler decision, however, the Court shed no light on what it considered to be in the national-as opposed to local-interest, because it struck down the statute at issue on Tenth Amendment grounds.

The Court soon modified its holding in the Butlerdecision in Helvering v. Davis (1937). There, the Court sustained the old-age benefits provisions of the Social Security Act of 1935 and adopted an expansive view of the power of the federal government to tax and spend for the general welfare. In Helvering, the Court maintained that although Congress's power to tax and spend under the General Welfare clause was limited to general or national concerns, Congress itself could determine when spending constituted spending for the general welfare. To date, no legislation passed by Congress has ever been struck down because it did not serve the general welfare."

(added 11/14/2009)

This addition to the answer adds a broader view of what the GWC clause has been seen to perform. The SCOTUS has upheld that Congress may pass legislation to enhance the welfare of the nation, and in much of that, the context specifically infers to the people of the United States. This is why it is important to know the facts of the clause, you may find that the implication of a previous entry to this answer (below) implies that the use of GWC has not had effect upon the people. As such you may wonder why someone would assert that the clause is not meant to respond to the legislation by Congress that affects the people. With this in mind, know that this clause does in fact affect the people and it has allowed the Constitutional passage of many of our fundamental supports to the people of the United States. For example SS and Medicare.

This section specifically defines to which body or entity the general welfare clause is to apply. Since the United States is specifically made up of the States themselves, this clause applies to the States as a whole and not the People. The Constitution addresses specific entities throughout the document. The People as an entity are only addressed twice in the main body of the US Constitution and in no case does the General Welfare clause apply to the People specifically. However, the Constitution does specifically define the rights which are to be retained by the People, as you can see in the following constitutional amendments. Notice the 10th Amendment.

Amendment I

"…or the right of the people peaceably to assemble."

Amendment II

"…the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Amendment IV

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,…"

Amendment IX

"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

Amendment X

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Amendment XVII

"…elected by the people thereof…"

"…That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election…"

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