Insights into the Constitution from English Social History
By: Rob Natelson If you want to understand the Constitution, you should know something of the social context that produced it. Very useful for this purpose are the chapters on ...
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The Day the Philadelphia Convention Narrowly Avoided Permanent Adjournment
By: Joe Wolverton, II “Something must be done, or we shall disappoint not only America, but the whole world…. We must make concessions on both sides. Without these, the constitutions ...
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The Constitution Stands in Their Way, So …
The Constitution does not just protect against human malevolence. It also protects against human stupidity. by Laura Hollis Ah, the Left. Ever ready to burn the foundations of America ...
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Tench Coxe: A Detailed Breakdown of State vs. Federal Powers
By: Mike Maharrey Despite being little known today, Tench Coxe was an influential founding father, and in early 1788, he provided what was possibly the most comprehensive list of examples ...
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The Great Compromise and the Struggle to Preserve State Sovereignty
By: Joe Wolverton, II The first weeks of July, 1787 were full of fiery speeches, threats of disunion, and tenuous compromises. In other words, just an ordinary time at the ...
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Tench Coxe: States and People as Checks on Federal Power
By: Mike Maharrey In his fourth essay of “An American Citizen,” Tench Coxe countered Anti-Federalist fears of federal tyranny by arguing that the Constitution’s structure kept the people and ...
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How the Supreme Court Rewrote the Constitution Part 7
By Rob Natelson Commentary This is the last installment in a series on the nadir, or low point, of the U.S. Supreme Court. This was the period from 1937 to 1944, ...
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How the Supreme Court Rewrote the Constitution – Part 4
By Rob Natelson Commentary The first, second, and third installments in this series explained that the Constitution created a small and frugal federal government. Those installments discussed how President Franklin ...
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Tench Coxe on the Senate: A Counter to Anti-Federalist Aristocracy Fears
By: Mike Maharrey The structure of the Senate was a serious point of contention for many Anti-Federalists, who warned it would quickly become a permanent or baneful aristocracy, with most senators serving for life. Tench ...
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Tench Coxe on the Executive Branch: President, not a King
By: Mike Maharrey American presidents behave almost like elected kings, exercising vast powers with very little accountability. But that wasn’t the plan. Tench Coxe was a key figure in ...
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