Today in History: The Philadelphia Convention Convenes
On May 14, 1787, delegates from the several states convened in Philadelphia, forming a convention with the initial aim of proposing amendments to the Articles of Confederation. Over the course ...
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War and the Separation of Powers
A popular way to begin the first day of class in constitutional law in many American law schools is to ask the students what sets the U.S. Constitution apart from ...
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Governors Should Veto National Guard Deployments More Often
by Ryan McMaken, Mises Institute Donald Trump and California Governor Jerry Brown have failed to come to an agreement over how California National Guard troops should be used at the US-Mexico border. Gov. ...
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Pick One: Constitutional Principles or Your Policy Preferences
In 1788, James Madison offered a blueprint for stopping “unwarrantable measures” enacted by the federal government. In Federalist #46, the “Father of the Constitution” advised a refusal to cooperate with ...
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The Constitution Doesn’t Create Rights
I heard an interesting conversation on a radio show the other day. The host was talking about NSA spying, and the discussion turned to recent revelations that the agency listened ...
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Restoring Judicial Impeachment
In March 1804, the House of Representatives did something for the first and, sadly, last time: It impeached a justice of the Supreme Court for abusing the office of a ...
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The Preamble to the Constitution: What It Tells Us and What It Doesn’t
For many Americans, knowledge of the Constitution begins and ends with the preamble. A lot of people probably even memorized it at some point in school. I suppose you could ...
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Constitution 101: The Judiciary and Judicial Review
The federal judiciary has arguably become the most powerful branch of the general government. Opinions issued by nine politically connected lawyers have redefined marriage throughout the entire United States, authorized ...
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16 Choice Quotes from James Madison, the “Father of the Constitution”
March 4th marks the anniversary of the beginning of government under the U.S. Constitution in 1789. It seldom gets any popular attention. But it certainly deserves some, especially in an ...
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Refuting 12 Common Claims Against The Right To Keep And Bear Arms
Critics of the Second Amendment often highlight the state of technology in which it was written insofar as firearms were concerned. At the time, one-shot muskets and rifles were cutting ...
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