Original Intent, Original Understanding, Original Meaning
Rob Natelson on how to uncover the original legal force of the Constitution
The Disastrous Student Loan Mess
The American Founders would have called this “corruption,” and they were keenly aware of the potential.
The Constitution’s Officers
If you read the Constitution carefully, you’ll see that the document frequently uses the terms “officers” and “offices.”
A Special Lesson on Habeas Corpus
“The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.”
Did the Founders expect the Courts to Declare Laws Unconstitutional?
the Founders expected the courts to void laws they found unconstitutional.
Health Care On Federal Enclaves, And Really Silly Journalists.
Did the Founders approve of Obamacare in 1798? Absurd.
The Bill of Rights Applies to the Federal Government
What government does U.S. Bill Of Rights limit? The Feds, not the States
James Madison and the Gathering Storm Prophecy
Madison paints a picture of what the union would look like under healthy conditions and then contrasts that with terminal conditions that would destroy the union. His portrayal is fascinating and worth applying today.
The 14th Amendment and the Bill of Rights
Did Congress or the ratifying States intend to incorporate, in whole or in part, the Bill of Rights
The Great Forgetting
The Constitution was created in a special legal environment. Rob Natelson gives a reminder.
James Madison and the Making of America
Madison may be known as the father of the Constitution, but Kevin Gutzman is having none of it.
Libertarian Centralizers: As Bad as the Other Kind?
Whatever the motive, centralizing power has bad long-term effects
NDAA Sections 1021 and 1022: Scary Potential
in America, we traditionally don’t lock up citizens on mere suspicion…Or is that is now changing?
The Founding Fathers’ Guide to the Constitution
The Constitution is there. It can still be known and understood by honest citizens.
The Little-Known – but Seminal – York Town Convention of 1777
by Rob Natelson The U.S. Constitution authorizes a “convention for proposing amendments” to offer amendments for ratification (or rejection) by the states. The mechanism has never been used (all amendments have come from Congress), and many people have been curious about how it is supposed to work. But that’s because they are unaware of the [...]
Another Treasure Hunt: Tracking Down Bits from the American Founding
Rob Natelson has a historical gem of a story from the Anti-Federalists
To “regulate” Commerce means more than to “make it regular”
It’s not just progressives who push myths about the Constitution…
The Dangerous Supreme Court
the division of powers in the American system disappeared long ago, and the checks and balances do not work.
Bill of Rights. FTW!
On December 15, 1791, the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution – known as the Bill of Rights – came into effect through the process of ratification by the States.
Original intent? Understanding? Meaning?
When interpreting phrases in the Constitution, you look to how the ratifiers understood them. Period.
More Constitutional Baby Babble. This time at Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair’s sophisticated approach to rescuing a drowning man is this: Lecture him about how we all need plenty of water.
What A Little-Known Colonial Pamphlet Tells Us About the Constitution
The Boston Pamphlet was the product of the Boston “committee of correspondence,” a group consisting of patriots such as James Otis and Sam Adams.
