Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke: Another Forgotten Influence on Our Founding Fathers
“The shortest and surest way of arriving at real knowledge is to unlearn the lessons we have been taught, to mount the first principles, and take nobody’s word about them.” In the annals of constitutional history, Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke, stands as a...
Federalist Papers or Anti-Federalist Papers: Which Is the Most Reliable Source for Interpreting the Constitution?
When composing the list of books that incoming freshmen should have read before beginning their studies at the University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison included The Federalist Papers. Their list was compiled in 1825, evidence that The Federalist...
This Week at the Constitutional Convention of 1787: First Draft of Constitution Presented to Delegates
This was a big week in 1787. The delegates at the Constitutional Convention gathered in Philadelphia finally received printed copies of the first draft of what would become the new Constitution of the United States. John Rutledge of South Carolina, chairman of the...