That is a fascinating tidbit to the history of the Constitution. It's amazing how much one little dot could have changed the meaning of the text.
You know it dawned on Me the other day what Your problem is with the Article `1 Section 8 of the US Constitution JeffJ.
Article 1 - The Legislative Branch
Section 8 - Powers of Congress
(1)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;
(2)To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
(3)To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
(4)To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
I am NOT going to number all of the clauses. I am a pecker and it takes me FOREVER to HTML tag them all. Your problem JeffJ is that You try and link say clause 2 to clause 1 or clause 3 with clause 1 and so on and so forth trying to link the General welfare portion of the taxing and spending clause to the other enumerated clauses of power. This is wrong thinking. Here is why. Each clause denotes a separate and completely unque issue on it's own. They are not to be melted into one another. They are separate issues. So when You try and say the other 18(I think I counted correctly the number in article 1 section 8 they are NOT to be tied to the 1st Taxing and spending clause.
