Alexander Hamilton
Who Decides? The Founders’ Forgotten System of Checks and Balances
“There is not a syllable in the constitution, that makes a decision of the judiciary – of its own force, and without regard to its correctness – binding upon any body, either upon the executive, or the people.” That’s from Lysander Spooner, reminding us of...
Little Known Episode in U.S. History Explains Executive War Powers
Within five years of the publishing of The Federalist papers (and four years of the ratification by the states of the Constitution), the co-authors of those seminal and influential essays on American political theory and constitutional interpretation were back at...
Alexander Hamilton’s Biggest Big Government Plan
Alexander Hamilton had a lot of big government plans for the United States, but his craziest plan may have been his proposal for an 11-point plan for government that he gave during a day-long speech at the Philadelphia Convention on June 18, 1787. At this stage of the...
The Founders and the Constitution: Alexander Hamilton
It’s easy, if not entirely fair, to explain Alexander Hamilton’s relentless search for fame and power as the outcome of a life begun under very unfavorable conditions. He was born on Jan. 11, 1757, an illegitimate child on the Caribbean island of Nevis, then a...