by Mike Maharrey | Sep 10, 2018 | Constitution, General Welfare Clause, Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson rejected the “anything and everything” view of the general welfare clause that so many hold today. Conventional wisdom holds that the Constitution’s “general welfare” clause authorizes the federal government to do... 
by Dave Benner | Sep 1, 2018 | Constitution, History, Thomas Jefferson
When we discuss the evolution of presidential power in early American history, it is sometimes alleged that the Louisiana Purchase was a particularly unconstitutional act and an example of presidential malfeasance. According to this line of reasoning, President Thomas... 
by Tom Mullen | Jul 20, 2018 | Constitution, Immigration, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson
President Trump has announced his second nomination to the Supreme Court. Perhaps as forward in the minds of conservatives as preserving the right to keep and bear arms, expressly protected from federal infringement by the Second Amendment, is how the new justice... 
by Kevin Gutzman | Jul 2, 2018 | Founding Principles, Thomas Jefferson
One day in January 1811, Thomas Jefferson wrote to a French man of letters whose book he so much admired that he translated it into English and saw to its American republication. Along the way, he explained to the Frenchman why there had been such a difference between... by Dave Benner | Apr 13, 2018 | History, Thomas Jefferson
Today in 1743, Thomas Jefferson was born. A classical liberal that embraced decentralized power, Jefferson championed a distinctly American political philosophy from Virginia’s ascension to statehood and the inception of the United States. Undoubtedly, he was... 
by Andrew Tylock | Dec 30, 2017 | James Madison, Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, Thomas Jefferson
The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798 offer us a pathway to a more free society. Fearing espionage from foreign powers and criticism of its foreign policy from U.S. citizens, President John Adams and the Federalist Congress passed what came to be known as the...