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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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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Did the Constitution Fail the People? Or Did the People Fail the Constitution?
By: Mike Maharrey Did the Constitution fail? A lot of people think it did. This popular quote by Lysander Spooner sums up the thoughts of many. “But whether the Constitution ...
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Whose Job is it to Keep the Feds in Line?
By: Michael Boldin For the federal government to take even a “single step” beyond the limits of the Constitution, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “is to take possession of a boundless field of power, ...
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Forever Prisoners
By: Judge Andrew Napolitano I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.” -Thomas ...
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No Deal: When the British Offered Amnesty in Exchange for Gun Control
By: TJ Martinell Two months after the battles of Lexington and Concord, the British offered amnesty to all who would lay down their arms. Unsurprisingly, the Patriots didn’t respond too kindly ...
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The Founders Predicted our Economic Crisis
By: Michael Boldin Did Thomas Jefferson call the economic crisis? “Every thing predicted by the enemies of banks, in the beginning, is now coming to pass. we are to be ruined ...
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Thomas Jefferson: A Little Rebellion Now and Then
Writing to James Madison about Shays’ Rebellion in early 1787, Thomas Jefferson said that “a little rebellion now and then is a good thing.” He considered it an ...
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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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