Historical Documents
Thomas Jefferson: Can the Dead Bind the Living?
We tend to think of Thomas Jefferson a a great American constitutionalist. And of course, he was. But it’s easy to forget Jefferson’s thinking sometimes roamed beyond what we would call traditional American constitutionalism. We find a great example of this in a...
John Locke’s Appeal to Heaven: Its Continuing Relevance
In his Second Treatise of Civil Government, eminent political philosopher John Locke argued that when all other political and individual methods of resisting tyranny are exhausted, only an “appeal to heaven” remains. In Chapter 14 of the famous work, Locke...
James Madison: Four Steps to Stop Federal Programs
Writing in Federalist #46, James Madison provided a 4-step strategy to bring down federal programs, without waiting on the federal government to limit its own power. Here’s what he had to say in the letter, The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared:...
Jefferson’s Warning: Too Much Power in the Central Government
Letter From Thomas Jefferson to Gideon Granger, 13 August 1800 Dear Sir I received with great pleasure your favor of June 4. and am much comforted by the appearance of a change of opinion in your state: for tho’ we may obtain, & I believe shall obtain a majority...