Bill of Rights
10th Amendment Essentials: Sovereignty and Resistance
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Before the Tenth Amendment was even drafted or considered, supporters of the Constitution told the...
Yet Another Federal Court Fail
Conservatives and libertarians often count on the federal courts to “protect their rights.” This is a bad strategy. Most of the time it fails. Instead of protecting rights, federal courts hand down bad precedents that end up applying to the entire United States. Yet...
The Power to Protect Is the Power to Control
Most people think the federal government should “guarantee” their rights. In other words, they think the U.S. government should police state and local governments to ensure that they don’t violate their rights. Practically speaking, the federal government does this...
Understanding the Constitution: the 14th Amendment: Part I
Past installments in the “Understanding the Constitution” series have focused mostly on the original, un-amended document. This two-part essay is a primer on the longest amendment ever adopted—the 14th. Some say it’s the most important amendment, because it empowered...