Founding Principles
The Tyranny of the Majority
“Which is better — to be ruled by one tyrant three thousand miles away, or three thousand tyrants one mile away?” -Rev. Mather Blyes (1706-1788) Does it really matter if the instrument curtailing liberty is a monarch or a popularly elected legislature?...
The ‘Three-Fifths Compromise’ was not based on racism
This is the second in a series of essays answering defamatory charges leveled against the U.S. Constitution. The first in the series addressed the allegation that the Constitution discriminated against women. In fact, as that essay showed, the framers took pains to...
When Can an Originalist Scholar Begin with the Constitution’s Text?
This article first appeared in The Originalism Blog on March 1, 2021. It is somewhat technical, and I recommend it only for constitutional wonks. I. The question I recently wrote a post for the Federalist Society Blog, in which I examined the Constitution’s...
Today in History: Articles of Confederation Officially Ratified
Today in History, on March 1, 1781, the states adopted the Articles of Confederation, putting into operation the first constitution for the United States. In July of 1776, the Continental Congress passed the Richard Henry Lee Resolution and adopted the Declaration of...