What does provide for the common defense''mean?
"To provide for the common defense" is a simple but meaningful
phrase in the US Constitution. It signifies one of the main reasons
that the individual states are bonding together into a union: to
provide an effective military force to protect all of the states
together (as divergent to each state fielding its own military to
protect itself separately). This means that the government will
provide all of the necessary things for the nation's defense. Such
as: Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, Marines, etc. to protect
the Americans from foreign enemies. I understand the phrase, "to
provide for the common defense", to mean that the government will
guarantee protection to the states, territories, and to all of the
citizens/residents thereof in the event of conflict with any
foreign nation.