Clearing Up the Confusion About the Constitution’s Term “Direct Taxes”
By: Rob Natelson The Supreme Court’s June 20 decision in Moore v. United States continues the long-standing controversy over the Constitution’s distinction between “direct” and “indirect” taxes. Writing for the Court, Justice ...
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Emancipating the Constitution From Non-Originalist Precedent
by John O. McGinnis & Mike Rappaport Non-Originalist Precedent The biggest challenge to the rise of originalism is precedent. Although originalism is enjoying more support in the judiciary and in ...
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How Tench Coxe Shaped the Ratification Debates: Essays of A Pennsylvanian
By: Mike Maharrey History often overlooks Tench Coxe, but he was one of the most important founding fathers. While the Federalist Papers are celebrated and widely discussed today, Coxe’s essays, written under ...
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Northwest Ordinance: Landmark 1787 Law Set the Foundation
By: Mike Maharrey On July 13, 1787, the Confederation Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance, one of the most important and influential acts of the early republic. It established a ...
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The Supreme Court Was Wrong About Taxes
By: Rob Natelson Along with some good decisions, Supreme Court justices made some mistakes in the term just ended. One mistake involved taxes—and it is likely to bedevil the court ...
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Bringing Back Gold Clause Contracts: A Challenge to the Fed
By: Mike Maharrey One of the ways the government maintains its fiat money system is by throwing up legal and regulatory roadblocks to those wanting to use real money. Bringing ...
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Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms
by John Dickinson & Thomas JeffersonJuly 06, 1775 EDITED AND INTRODUCED BY ROBERT M.S. MCDONALD Introduction When the second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, less than ...
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“General Welfare” and “Common Defense” Explained by James Madison
By: Mike Maharrey The words “provide for the common defense and general welfare” rank among the most abused phrases in the Constitution. I often refer to this as the “anything ...
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James Madison on the Ignored “Fundamental Principle of the Revolution”
By: Mike Maharrey Forget schoolhouse history. James Madison exposed a much deeper truth about the American Revolution. It wasn’t just “taxation without representation.” He argued that This clash, Madison declared, ...
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The Supreme Court Bump Stock Case: Defeat for the “Deep State”
By: Rob Natelson Justice Clarence Thomas’ opinion for the Supreme Court in Garland v. Cargill—the “bump stock firearms” case—may be more important for what it does not say than for ...
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