The ideas that formed the Constitution: Cicero Continued
By: Rob Natelson The previous installment in this series outlined the life and career of the Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero. It described how John Adams relied on Cicero’s work in the preface ...
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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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Necessary is Supposed to Mean Necessary
By: Michael Boldin When the Constitution was ratified, the word necessary meant, well, necessary. But in the dystopian “future” we live under today, words don’t mean what they actually mean. They ...
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The Destructive Legacy of the Federal Taxing Power
By: Bob Fiedler How many people stop to consider if there are any restrictions on what or how the federal government can tax? Does the Constitution for the United States allow ...
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Necessary Does not Mean Useful or Convenient
By: TJ Martinell One of the most famous and important Supreme Court opinions is from the 1819 McCulloch v. Maryland case. It set the stage for massive expansion of federal power by incorrectly ...
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Today in History: New York Ratifies the Constitution
By: Mike Maharrey On this date in 1788, New York became the 11th state to ratify the Constitution. The Constitution narrowly won approval by a 30-27 vote on July 26, 1788, ...
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Understanding Federal Supremacy
By: Mike Maharrey The Supremacy Clause stands as one of the most misunderstood and abused provisions in the Constitution. This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be ...
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The Original Meaning of “Necessary” in the Necessary and Proper Clause
By: TJ Martinell One of the most significant (and often abused) clauses in the U.S. Constitution is the “Necessary and Proper” Clause. The clause states: “The Congress shall have Power… To ...
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Constitutional Supremacy, Not Judicial Supremacy
By: TJ Martinell In response to a U.S. Supreme Court opinion, President Andrew Jackson allegedly remarked “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!” Whether he actually said ...
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Understanding Federal Supremacy
By: Mike Maharrey The Supremacy Clause stands as one of the most misunderstood and abused provisions in the Constitution. This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be ...
Read more.