Historical Documents
Thomas Jefferson on the Misuse of the Commerce and General Welfare Clauses
Barely 8 months before he died, Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Virginia politician William Giles about the threat posed by the usurpation of states rights by a growing federal power. He identified federal powers claimed under the commerce and general welfare clauses as...
The Greatest Constitutional Document of All
This article was first published in The American Thinker. It is said that no second heir to the British throne has been named John because of the reputation of the first. King John (1199-1216) could be charming and efficient, but he was ruthless and utterly...
James Madison: Veto Message on the Internal Improvements Bill
March 3, 1817: As his last official act as President, Madison vetoes a bill that would provide federal funding for building roads and canals throughout the United States. The President finds no expressed congressional power to fund roads and canals in the...
John Adams: The Meaning of the American Revolution
EDITOR’S NOTE: John Adams sent the following lucid essay to Hezekiah Niles, editor of the Weekly Register, on February 13, 1818, and Niles praised it three weeks later. “Those who delight to trace the early dawnings of the American Revolution,” wrote...