17th Amendment: How it Broke the Safeguard Against Consolidation
By: Michael Boldin When the framers designed the Senate, they envisioned it as a safeguard for the states, with a key component being state legislatures choosing senators instead of the ...
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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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Limited or Absolute Power: Warnings from Anti-Federalist Agrippa
By: TJ Martinell The Anti-Federalist writer Agrippa powerfully expressed many of the same reservations about the Constitution as other opponents – that it would create a consolidated government leading ...
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Mercy Otis Warren: Constitution Would “Terminate in the Most Uncontrolled Despotism”
By: TJ Martinell Mercy Otis Warren came down firmly opposed to ratification of the Constitution, and her anonymously written pamphlet titled “Observations on the new Constitution, and on the Federal ...
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Consolidation and the Destruction of Liberty
By: Michael Boldin If we truly want to build a real “land of the free,” it’s essential to understand the source of our problems – to “strike the root,” so to ...
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Federal Farmer: A Confederated Republic or Consolidation?
By: TJ Martinell During the Constitution’s ratification process, there was little to no debate about the type of government desired. Whether antifederalist or federalist, both sides fundamentally advocated for a federal ...
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The Federal Government is too Big; George Mason Warned Us
By: Mike Maharrey Many antifederalists warned us about the dangers of centralized power. And George Mason was one of the most prominent. They called this centralization of power in the general ...
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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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Separation of Powers: A “Dogmatic Maxim” in the Constitution
By: Michael Boldin James Madison considered the separation of powers so important he not only called it a “dogmatic maxim,” he expressly included it as part of his proposed amendments for ...
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Washington DC’s Imperial Power Over the States
In an article published by the Mises Wire, Jeff Deist wrote something quite profound. “D.C. is very much an imperial power with respect to the fifty states, not just in the Middle ...
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