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The Constitution and the Founders
110 posts, newest first (page 5 of 5).
Principal Officers, Inferior Officers and the Appointments Clause ExplainedThe Appointments Clause decides who may wield federal power and who answers for choosing them, and the Court enforces it against officials appointed wrongly. The Take Care Clause Was Written Against Kings Who Suspended the LawsThe president's duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed was written to forbid the royal power to suspend and dispense with laws. Federalist 70 Read Closely, Hamilton's Case for Energy in One ExecutiveHamilton's Federalist 70 explains why one accountable president beats a council, and why knowing whom to blame is the heart of free government. The Executive Power Shall Be Vested in a President, and Every Word CountsArticle II gives all of the executive power to one elected person, and that means the president must be able to fire the officers who wield it. Habeas Corpus Is the Oldest Liberty in the Constitution, and War Tests ItThe writ of habeas corpus came from England into the original Constitution. Every major American war has tested who may suspend it and when. The Contract Clause Once Guarded Your Deals Until a Depression Court Bent ItFor a century the Contract Clause kept states from rewriting private agreements. Then Blaisdell in 1934 let emergency open the door. Here is the history. Article I, Section 9 Lists the Things Congress May Never Do to YouBefore the Bill of Rights, the original Constitution already carried a list of things Congress may never do. Here is every clause of Section 9, read in order. The Speech or Debate Clause Shields Lawmakers' Votes, Not Their BribesThe Speech or Debate Clause keeps the executive from punishing Congress for legislating. It has never protected a member who sells his vote. George Mason Lost the Word Maladministration and Impeachment Was Born NarrowOn September 8, 1787, the Convention rejected maladministration as a ground for impeachment and chose high crimes and misdemeanors instead. Here is why. Why Every Tax Bill Must Start in the House, and How the Senate Gets Around ItThe Origination Clause gives the House first word on taxes. The Senate's amendment power, and the shell bill, have quietly hollowed it out. Madison and Hamilton Fought Over Two Words, General Welfare, and We Still PayMadison read general welfare as a summary of the listed powers; Hamilton read it as a power to spend. Hamilton won in court, and the bill keeps growing. What Commerce Among the Several States Meant to the Men Who Wrote ItIn 1787 regulating commerce among the states meant governing trade across state lines, not every act that adds up to an effect on a market. The Necessary and Proper Clause Was Never Meant to Be a Blank CheckThe Necessary and Proper Clause carries out the listed powers and adds none. Madison and Hamilton both said so in 1788, and Marshall agreed in 1819. We the People Wrote a Preamble That Limits Government Instead of Licensing ItThe Preamble names six purposes and grants no power. Read it phrase by phrase, and see why the Supreme Court said so plainly in 1905.
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