The ideas that formed the Constitution, the pioneers: Socrates, Xenophon, Plato
By: Rob Natelson This is the fourth in a series of essays on the ideas behind the Constitution. You can find the first two essays here, here, and here As explained in the second ...
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Federal Farmer: Constitution creates “a strong tendency to aristocracy”
By: TJ Martinell In his third letter dated Oct. 10, 1787, the anti-federalist writer Federal Farmer wrote skeptically of the proposed new federal government for fear it would bring about a “tendency toward ...
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Slouching Toward Fascism
By: Judge Andrew Napolitano Fascism is a governmental system in which the means of economic production and delivery of services are privately owned but government-controlled. Throughout history — before even getting ...
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Patrick Henry’s Warning on “Implied Authority”
By: TJ Martinell Patrick Henry’s impassioned remarks during the final days of the Virginia Ratifying Convention were the culmination of week-long arguments between skeptics of the proposed Constitution and its supporters, such as ...
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What Are Rights? This Is What the Founders Believed
By: Dan Sanchez In 1776, the Declaration of Independence proclaimed that everyone is endowed with “unalienable Rights.” Years later, the Bill of Rights elaborated on those rights. Subsequently, the rights of ...
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Resistance is Crucial to the Advancement of Liberty
By: Mike Maharrey Patrick Henry told us that “government is no more than a choice among evils.” Thomas Paine held the same view. In Common Sense, he wrote, “Society in every state ...
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Understanding the Constitution: The Power to Restrict Immigration
By: Rob Natelson The Constitution doesn’t use the word “immigration.” Those consulting the constitutional debates of 1787–1790 (such as the essays in “The Federalist”) will find no discussion of the subject. ...
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Absolute Federal Supremacy: The Myth That Just Won’t Go Away
By: Mike Maharrey It never goes away – the myth of absolute federal supremacy. I got an email from a Tenth Amendment Center volunteer in Illinois last week. He has been ...
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The Federal Farmer: The Constitution Would Lead to a Complete Consolidation
By: TJ Martinell During the debates over ratification of the Constitution, one of the most influential and important series of papers were written by the Federal Farmer, an anti-federalist who forcefully ...
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Advancing Liberty: 4 Essential, Foundational Principles
By: Michael Boldin The “American revolution” was about much more than the war for Independence. In fact, as John Adams noted, the revolution was “effected before the war commenced.” A “radical ...
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