The Founding Fathers knew that the power to tax was the power to destroy. They fought a bloody war against Great Britain to free themselves from a government that shackled them with what they considered to be oppressive and unjust taxes.
When they met in Philadelphia to write a Constitution, they wanted to make sure that the government of the United States would be unable to impose a tax on the people of the thirteen independent states. They wanted the states and not the Federal government to be the collector of taxes and they prohibited the central government from taxing the people directly without being directly related to apportionment.
In the very first Article in the Constitution, Congress was granted to authority to tax, but taxes would be unconstitutional if they were direct taxes without apportionment. The new Constitution required that all Federal Taxes must be apportioned among the states according to their respective populations.
Money taxes collected by the states to pay for the national defense and the General Welfare were lawful, while taxes that funded programs and projects not specifically enumerated in Article I Section 8 were prohibited. Every time Congress votes to allocate money to agencies and bureaus not mentioned in the Constitution, the Congressmen and women are violating their oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.
The Founding Fathers knew that in order to remain free and independent as a nation we would need to avoid the burden of debt. They understood that borrowing money was potentially very dangerous and unnecessary. They granted to Congress the authority to coin money and regulate its value. Since Congress had the power to coin money, their would be no need to borrow money from the London bankers.
Replies
For me to maintain that the revolution was fought over taxes is only partially true. Your assertion are absolutely correct. Thank you for pointing out my error.