Category — For The Record

The recently released GAO report prompts questions as to the job our representatives are doing in being good stewards of taxpayer money. Reading the Constitution aloud in the House of Representatives in the opening days of the 112th Congress was a nice symbolic gesture. But symbols are supposed to stand for something. Ending programs that can’t pass a 10th Amendment test, (and refusing to authorize new ones) would give the symbolism meaning. It would also reveal which members of Congress meant it when they swore to protect and defend the Constitution.   Read the rest of this entry »

Hezekiah Niles lived in a more innocent age. Yet, he saw the need to keep the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence always before the people. Much has changed since the Niles Register was published, but not that.   Read the rest of this entry »

In this post, Michael Newton tries to restore precision to our language. The American experiment was conceived as a republic, not a democracy. Present day efforts to conflate the terms not withstanding, the Founders were wary of democracies and they had good reason.   Read the rest of this entry »

Saturday link blog. Some stuff that you might not have seen.   Read the rest of this entry »

The impetus for this post, other than filling out the Pierce story, was Lamar's devotion to the Constitution, even after Secession. We have to ask: What would Lamar think about present-day efforts to circumvent it?   Read the rest of this entry »

The Niles National Register is a really neat resource. The original papers have all been scanned in and it's full of interesting stuff. See it in action!   Read the rest of this entry »

An old letter filled with clues leads Martin on a merry chase through history and yields some pretty surprising discoveries.   Read the rest of this entry »

Not all history is found in books. The private correspondence of one Lizzie Pierce, formerly of New York, lately of Oxford Mississippi, provides a glimpse of that ugly period misnamed Reconstruction, and the anger and hostility it engendered.   Read the rest of this entry »

Letters from the past illuminate an event in maritime history. The stamp on the envelope is our excuse for sharing it with you.   Read the rest of this entry »

WWTFT guest blogger Michael Newton takes a shot at the question of what the Founders would do in present circumstances of Egypt.   Read the rest of this entry »