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The Constitution and the Founders
110 posts, newest first (page 2 of 5).
Prohibition Proves an Amendment Can Be a Mistake and Can Be RepealedThe 18th Amendment wrote a policy preference into the Constitution, failed in plain sight, and was undone by the 21st. Here is the lesson for today. The 16th Amendment Began With a Promise That Only the Rich Would PayWhy the income tax needed an amendment, how it was sold in 1913 as a levy on the wealthy, and how the Constitution left nothing to stop it spreading. The 15th Amendment Promised the Vote and Took Ninety-Five Years to EnforceHow the 15th Amendment of 1870 was defeated by literacy tests, poll taxes and grandfather clauses, and why a written right still needs enforcing. How the Bill of Rights Came to Bind the States, One Right at a TimeA dated timeline of incorporation, from Barron v. Baltimore in 1833 to Timbs v. Indiana in 2019, and what the long road teaches about liberty. Justice Harlan Said Our Constitution Is Color-Blind in 1896, and He Was RightA close reading of Harlan's Plessy dissent, the case behind it, and why its principle, not race-conscious policy, is the road to equality. Subject to the Jurisdiction Thereof, Six Words at the Center of CitizenshipRead the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause, the 1866 debate, Elk and Wong Kim Ark, and weigh both readings of its most argued-over phrase. The Slaughter-House Cases Gutted the 14th Amendment's Best Clause in 1873Five years after ratification, the Court read the Privileges or Immunities Clause into near irrelevance, and later courts reached for due process instead. The 13th Amendment's Second Section Gave Congress a New Kind of PowerThe 13th Amendment ended slavery and, in one short sentence, gave Congress its first enforcement power, a tool with real reach and real limits. Chisholm v. Georgia Lost in 1793 and the States Answered With the 11th AmendmentWhen the Supreme Court let a South Carolina man sue Georgia in 1793, the states amended the Constitution within two years. Here is how and why. The Tenth Amendment Left Out One Word, Expressly, and the Omission MatteredThe Articles of Confederation reserved every power not expressly delegated. The First Congress dropped the word, and that choice shaped federalism ever since. The Ninth Amendment Is Neither a Blank Check for Judges Nor a Dead LetterConservatives split over the Ninth Amendment. Read with Madison and Federalist 84, it is a binding rule of construction, not a judicial license. Cruel and Unusual Meant Something in 1791 Before Evolving Standards ArrivedThe Eighth Amendment copied the English Bill of Rights of 1689 and set a fixed standard, until the Court swapped it for evolving standards of decency. Speedy, Public, Impartial, Reading the Sixth Amendment's Promises One at a TimeOne sentence, seven protections for the accused, each written against a known abuse, from Raleigh's trial in 1603 to the Ramos jury ruling of 2020. The Fifth Amendment Holds Five Rights, Not Just the One From the MoviesGrand jury, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, due process and just compensation each have their own history, and each guards you against a different abuse. General Warrants Made the Fourth Amendment, and Particularity Is Its HeartThe Fourth Amendment was written against the general warrant, and its demand for particular descriptions is the rule that matters most for your phone. The Third Amendment Is the Quietest Right and Still Teaches the MostThe ban on quartering soldiers in private homes looks like an antique, but it holds the whole idea that a home is a castle against the government. Freedom of the Press Meant No Prior Restraint, and Then It Meant MoreBlackstone's free press banned censorship in advance but allowed punishment after. How American law moved past him, from Zenger to Sullivan. The Right to Petition Is the Forgotten Fifth Freedom of the First AmendmentThe right to petition is older than the Constitution and is your direct line to power. How it grew, how the House once gagged it, and how to use it. No Law Respecting an Establishment Meant Something Specific in 1791In 1791 an establishment meant a state church with taxes, doctrine and privileges. The clause barred Congress from making one, not faith from public life. Federalists Versus Anti-Federalists on Six Questions, Side by SideThe ratification fight turned on six questions. A side-by-side table of each camp's answers, and how the losers won the Bill of Rights. The Articles of Confederation Next to the Constitution, Side by SideLay the Articles of Confederation beside the Constitution clause by clause and every repair the Framers made comes into view, plus a few worth undoing. Centinel Called the Convention a Conspiracy and Got a Few Things RightPhiladelphia's Centinel called the Constitution an aristocratic plot. Separate his overheated charges from his sound points on the Senate and the courts. The Federal Farmer Wanted a Bill of Rights and a Bigger HouseThe Federal Farmer accepted a stronger union but demanded more representatives and written rights. What he asked for, and what 1789 gave him. Brutus No. 1 Predicted the Necessary and Proper Clause Would Swallow the StatesIn October 1787 Brutus warned that the taxing power and one elastic clause would consolidate the states. Read his essay and see who history favored.
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