Category — Constitution

Madison's Metronome is an extremely honest and thorough assessment of Madison's political theories as they relate to the construction of the United States federal system. The book is a "chips fall where they may" look at a remarkable mind.   Read the rest of this entry »

The Winter 2011/2012 issue of the Claremont Review of Books was packed full of interesting reviews and essays (as they all are.) One of these provided the inspiration for this article, which examines the efficacy of international tribunals in changing the hearts and minds of those under their jurisdiction.   Read the rest of this entry »

James Best's latest book, Principled Action provides an excellent analysis of the American Founding and what made it unique. However, it also provides considerable insight into the motivations of the current grass-roots movement for a return to constitutionalism. Thus Principled Action is 9 parts history and 1 part political philosophy.   Read the rest of this entry »

James Madison wrote the following letter in the interval between Constitutional Convention and its ratification by the States. It's interesting for a number of reasons. Historically, it provides insight into Madison's perspective on The Bill of Rights, why it was not included in the Constitution to start with, and his motivation for championing it after the Convention. By the time the Constitution was ratified, and the first Congress was in session, much of the political impetus behind it had dissipated. Madison persisted and mostly thanks to his efforts, the Amendments became part of the Constitution.   Read the rest of this entry »

Rube Goldberg’s cartoons illustrated overly complex ways to do simple tasks. He could have been a congressman. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act may be the most convoluted and tortuous act ever passed by Congress. There are nearly half a million words in the bill itself, and government agencies have already issued over a million words of enacting regulations. And this is only a small fraction of ObamaCare’s 700+ directives to develop and issue regulations. Be prepared for chaos.   Read the rest of this entry »

We have veered from the Framers design. If there are any restriction on federal powers, it will have to be somewhat restored with a Supreme Court decision on ObamaCare, but even if the court rules against the heath care mandate, prior decisions will remain in place that pretty much gave the government carte blanche to do whatever it wants. Constitutional checks and balances are also in tatters. It seems frighteningly possible for a group of determined activists to gain and maintain control of an unfettered national government.   Read the rest of this entry »

The Founders’ Key is a deceptively modest book whose size belies its robust content. Its purpose, according to author, Larry P. Arnn, is to explain the connection between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He refutes the arguments of Progressives who misinterpret the former and dismiss the latter as antiquated and irrelevant. Along the way, Arnn contrasts the principles that unite the two founding documents with the ideal that animates their critics.   Read the rest of this entry »

On this day in 1792, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson made an inconspicuous announcement concerning a crucial part of the Constitution, The Bill of Rights.   Read the rest of this entry »

In his new book, Mr. President How and Why the Founders Created a Chief Executive, Ray Raphael investigates the roots and evolution of the Executive Branch. For anyone wishing to understand how the presidency came to be what it is, this is the book to read.   Read the rest of this entry »

The French philosopher/economist Frederic Bastiat explains the purpose of government, the derivation of natural rights, and the pitfalls of intrusive government in his essay, The Law. In setting the groundwork for his essay, Bastiat shows what the Framers of the American Experiment had in mind.   Read the rest of this entry »