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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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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Tench Coxe Defends the Structure of the House of Representatives
By: Mike Maharrey Countering Anti-Federalist fears that Congress wouldn’t represent the diverse interests of the American population, Tench Coxe came out swinging, insisting that the House would be “the immediate ...
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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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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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Ideas That Formed the Constitution, Part 8: Cicero
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 ...
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The Division of Federal and State Powers
By: TJ Martinell How much power would the federal government have? And what powers would the states retain? This was a hotly debated question as the states considered ratifying a new ...
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James Wilson Delivers “State House Yard Speech” in Favor of the Constitution
By: Dave Benner On October 6, 1787, eminent Pennsylvanian James Wilson delivered his famous “State House Yard Speech” in support of the Constitution in Philadelphia. On the dawn of the first ...
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