- + Duty Bound: James Madison’s Six Principles to Stop Federal Tyranny—The states are “duty bound to interpose.” That’s how James Madison put it in his Virginia Resolutions, passed on Dec 21 and 24, 1798, in respo...
- + Thomas Paine’s The American Crisis: A Rallying Cry That Changed History—On December 19, 1776, as the War for Independence stood on the brink of collapse, Thomas Paine published The American Crisis . Beginning with the imm...
- + Anti-Federalist Objections: Pennsylvania Dissent Explained—One of the most influential and widely cited anti-federalist papers wasn’t written by a single individual. It was produced by a group of delegates who...
- + Bill of Rights: Forgotten Role of the 10th Amendment in Its Creation—The Bill of Rights was born from intense battles between Federalists and Anti-Federalists over delegated and reserved powers. This clash not only shap...
- + Repeal the 17th Amendment: The Anti-Federalist Warnings We Must Not Ignore—Repealing the 17th Amendment has become a rallying cry for those seeking to restore federalism. But the Anti-Federalists warned during the ratificatio...
- + A Republic at Risk: Cato’s Anti-Federalist Warnings—“A vile and arbitrary aristocracy or a monarchy.” That’s what the anti-federalist writer Cato warned we would get under the Constitution. This was...
- + The Founders on the Source of Rights and an Essential Reading List—Rights Are Not Gifts from Government. They don’t come from a constitution, a bill of rights, or any document at all. Natural rights come...
- + Reversing Gresham’s Law: How Sound Money Could Drive Out Fiat—Gresham’s Law is an economic maxim that states “good money” drives out “bad money.” But under the right circumstances, it might be possible to reverse...
- + The Best and Worst States for Sound Money—The newly released 2025 Sound Money Index has identified Wyoming, South Dakota, and Alaska as the states with the most favorable policies toward con...
- + Forgotten Foundation of the Revolution: Letters from a Farmer—John Dickinson’s Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania rank among the most important essays espousing the cause of liberty during the American R...
- + Ignorance vs. Freedom: Reclaim the Constitution and Liberty—“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free,” wrote Thomas Jefferson, “it expects what never was and never will be.” That’s w...
- + The Cornerstone of a Free Society: Everyone Should be Armed—“Self-defense is a primary law of nature, which no subsequent law of society can abolish.” That’s how the great Mercy Otis Warren p...
- + The Sermon That Laid the Groundwork for the American Revolution—“Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.” Just after the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776, a committee of Thomas Jefferson, Jo...
- + South Carolina Declares “Tariff of Abominations” Null and Void—On Nov. 24, 1832, a South Carolina state convention passed an Ordinance of Nullification , declaring the tariffs of 1828 of 1832 “null and void...
- + Gitmo Continues to Haunt—Here’s a pop quiz: When can an Army colonel overrule the Secretary of Defense? It happened last week for probably the first time in modern histo...
- + Tench Coxe: Forgotten Federalist who Helped Influence Ratification of the Constitution—Tench Coxe may be the most influential founding father that people have never heard of. For most people, discussions about the meaning of the Const...
- + States vs. Feds: The 10th Amendment Battle Over Conscription in the War of 1812—“The last of all oppressions” That’s how Thomas Jefferson described the military draft. Because of widespread opposition to it, the federal gove...
- + Remembering John Dickinson: “One of the great worthies of the revolution”—“We cannot be happy without being FREE.” Those words from John Dickinson, known as the “Penman of the Revolution,” reflect his belie...
- + Kentucky Resolutions of 1798: Jefferson on the Constitution’s Structure and How to Defend It—“A nullification of the act is the rightful remedy.” That’s how Thomas Jefferson put it in his draft Resolutions against the Alien an...
- + George Mason’s Anti-Federalist Arguments Against the Constitution—“ A monarchy, or a corrupt tyrannical aristocracy .” That’s what George Mason predicted the Constitution would produce. And his objections to rati...
- + Presidential Actions to Uphold the Constitution: A Five-Step Guide—It’s time to walk the walk when it comes to the oath to the Constitution, which is currently treated more like an optional guide at best, or toilet pa...
- + Stopping Usurpation: The Forgotten Power of Non-Compliance—You can’t comply your way out of tyranny. This principle – central to the American Revolution – has been almost totally forgotten and i...
- + The Stamp Act Nullified: Colonial Resistance in Action—Refuse to comply. That’s exactly what the people did to nullify the Stamp Act, which took effect on November 1, 1765. We’ve all heard about th...
- + A Storm of Resolve: Commemorating the 248th Anniversary of the Battle of White Plains—October 28, 2024 marked the 248th anniversary of the Battle of White Plains — a fierce clash in which ordinary men faced a disciplined British army, n...
- + National Debt: The Top 5 Worst Presidents of All Time—James Madison called public debt “a public curse.” The U.S. has been cursed for most of its existence, and the curse continues to grow at a di...
- + Brace Yourselves: A Tsunami Approaches—Brace yourself: a tsunami approaches. While we squabble over which side is winning this losing battle to lead the country, there is something being...
- + Integrity over Politics: President Madison’s Final Act to Defend the Constitution—On his last day in office, James Madison delivered what might be history’s most significant – and overlooked – presidential veto. ...
- + War and the Constitution—Can the president fight any war he wishes? Can Congress fund any war it chooses? Are there constitutional and legal requirements that must first be me...
- + The War of 1812 and State Sovereignty: New England’s Militia Resistance Explained—Was the militia intended to be used as an offensive military force in foreign lands? During the War of 1812, New England states not only said no, but ...
- + Patrick Henry: Top-6 Anti-Federalist Warnings—This government “will swallow the liberties of the people, without giving them previous notice.” That’s one of many stark warnings Patrick Hen...
- + Before Boston: The Tea Revolt That Began in Philadelphia—The Boston Tea Party is arguably the best-known event leading up to the war for independence, but a number of leading Revolutionaries, including Benja...
- + 250 Years Ago: The Forgotten Declaration that Set the Course for Independence—“To these grievous measures, Americans cannot submit.” That bold declaration helped spark coordinated resistance across the colonies in 1774. Toda...
- + Jury Nullification: How “We the People” Can Overrule the Government—Trial by Jury. Thomas Jefferson considered it “the only anchor ever imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its con...
- + Insights into the Constitution from English Social History—If you want to understand the Constitution, you should know something of the social context that produced it. Very useful for this purpose are th...
- + Thomas Jefferson’s Solution from the Revolution—“A nullity” and “ we declare these acts void “ This was the bold conclusion about British Acts that Thomas Jefferson...
- + Hidden Agendas: Beware of the Government’s Push for a Digital Currency—The government wants your money. It will beg, steal or borrow if necessary, but it wants your money any way it can get it. The government’s sc...
- + Little Known Episode in U.S. History Explains Executive War Powers—Within five years of the publishing of The Federalist papers (and four years of the ratification by the states of the Constitution), the co-authors ...
- + Principles of ’98: Rooted in the American Revolution—In response to the hated Alien and Sedition Acts, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison drafted the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798, sometimes ...
- + The Albany Plan: Benjamin Franklin’s Forgotten Call for Colonial Unity—On May 9, 1754 – just about a month before the Albany Congress was set to meet – Benjamin Franklin published his famous Join or Die poli...
- + Tench Coxe: Originalism and the Founders’ Understanding of the Constitution—“Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth-right of an American.” If he’s even remembered at all today, peo...
- + Don’t Trust the Government. Not with Your Privacy, Property or Your Freedoms—Public trust in the government to “do what is right” understandably remains at an all-time low . After all, how do you trust a government that con...
- + The Day the Philadelphia Convention Narrowly Avoided Permanent Adjournment—“Something must be done, or we shall disappoint not only America, but the whole world…. We must make concessions on both sides. Without these, the con...
- + War Powers: The True History of James Madison, the Constitution and the War of 1812—In the early years of the United States under the Constitution, James Madison made one of the most compelling constitutional arguments against unilate...
- + Five Critical Reminders About Liberty and Security from the Founders—Today, like every day, is a great day for a reminder of some of the top principles from the founders that we should never, ever forget. Unfortu...
- + The Satirical Genius of Benjamin Franklin’s 1774 Letter to Lord North—“A friend to military government.” That’s not what we’d expect from one of the leading supporters of American independence, but that’s just how Be...
- + Prelude to Independence: Thomas Jefferson Declares British Acts Null and Void—“A nullity” and “ we declare these acts void “ This was the bold conclusion about British Acts that Thomas Jefferson c...
- + The Treaty of Paris: How the War for Independence Almost Didn’t End—Signed on Sept 3, 1783 – the Treaty of Paris has long been called the formal end to the War for Independence. But the war didn’t officiall...
- + Technofascism: The Government Pressured Tech Companies to Censor Users—Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has finally admitted what we knew all along: Facebook conspired with the government to censor individuals expressi...
- + Before Lexington and Concord: The British Gun Grab That Nearly Sparked the Revolution—Despite the fact that it proved to be mostly a false alarm, the “Powder Alarm” of Sept 1-2, 1774 showed the colonists that the British were serious &#...
- + Tench Coxe: A Detailed Breakdown of State vs. Federal Powers—Despite being little known today, Tench Coxe was an influential founding father, and in early 1788, he provided what was possibly the most comprehensi...
- + War Powers: The True History of John Adams and the Quasi-War with France—Many people believe presidents have a great deal of authority to make unilateral decisions about war without the approval of Congress. To support this...
- + The Right to be Left Alone—The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to privacy. Like other amendments in the Bill of Rights, it doesn’t create th...
- + The Political Matrix Sustains the Illusion of Freedom—What you smell is the stench of a dying republic. Our dying republic. We are trapped in a political matrix intended to sustain the illusion that...
- + 17th Amendment: How it Broke the Safeguard Against Consolidation—When the framers designed the Senate, they envisioned it as a safeguard for the states, with a key component being state legislatures choosing senator...
- + Tench Coxe’s Federalist Defense: Economic and Political Consequences of Disunion—In a number of his lesser-known federalist essays, Tench Coxe pivoted from his usual focus on the division of powers between state and federal governm...
- + Mercantilism and the Road to the American Revolution—The American Revolution was not merely a clash over taxation without representation, but a rejection of a deeply entrenched economic system that posit...
- + The Great Compromise and the Struggle to Preserve State Sovereignty—The first weeks of July, 1787 were full of fiery speeches, threats of disunion, and tenuous compromises. In other words, just an ordinary time at the ...
- + Paper Money: The Founders Warned Us!—“The evils of paper money have no end” That’s how Thomas Paine put it, but he was far from alone. The Founding Fathers were deeply worried about t...
- + Tench Coxe: States and People as Checks on Federal Power—In his fourth essay of “ An American Citizen ,” Tench Coxe countered Anti-Federalist fears of federal tyranny by arguing that the Constitution’s...
- + American Theocracy: Politics Has Become Our National Religion—Politics has become our national religion. While those on the Left have feared a religious coup by evangelical Christians on the Right, the dange...
- + Constitution: The Founders on the Limits of Parchment Barriers—The Founding Fathers understood that written laws alone cannot protect liberty. They warned that the Constitution could, like other documents before i...
- + Tench Coxe Defends the Structure of the House of Representatives—Countering Anti-Federalist fears that Congress wouldn’t represent the diverse interests of the American population, Tench Coxe came out swinging, insi...
- + Report: 2023 Federal Gun Control Enforcement Near Record Levels—For the third straight year, the Biden administration’s federal gun control enforcement efforts hit close to record levels in 2023. The pace has...
- + Founders’ Foresight: The Perils of Perpetual Debt—“A public debt is a public curse.” That’s how James Madison put it, and he was right. Today, America is absolutely drowning in debt – ...
- + Our “Public Curse” Just Eclipsed $35 Trillion—“I go on the principle that a Public Debt is a Public curse and in a Rep. Govt. a greater than in any other.” – James Madison ...
- + Tench Coxe on the Senate: A Counter to Anti-Federalist Aristocracy Fears—The structure of the Senate was a serious point of contention for many Anti-Federalists , who warned it would quickly become a permanent or ...
- + More Evidence that “Direct Taxes” include Levies on Wealth and Income—My earlier entry provided links to Founding-era sources showing that the Constitution’s category of “direct taxes” included levies on all kinds of w...
- + Tench Coxe on the Executive Branch: President, not a King—American presidents behave almost like elected kings, exercising vast powers with very little accountability. But that wasn’t the plan. Tench Co...
- + Eight Essential Principles Behind the 2nd Amendment—There is only one thing the ATF is authorized to do under the Constitution. Disband! This may sound like hyperbole, but when you understand ...
- + Benjamin Franklin’s Brilliant Satire: Exposing British Hypocrisy Through a Fake Prussian Edict—As frustrations with usurpations and arbitrary power from the British government grew, American colonial leaders fired up the presses, producing hundr...
- + Clearing Up the Confusion About the Constitution’s Term “Direct Taxes”—The Supreme Court’s June 20 decision in Moore v. United States continues the long-standing controversy over the Constitution’s distinction between “...
- + Benjamin Franklin: How to Lose an Empire—“Empires, by Pride & Folly & Extravagance, ruin themselves like Individuals.” Benjamin Franklin certainly understood history . ...
- + How Tench Coxe Shaped the Ratification Debates: Essays of A Pennsylvanian—History often overlooks Tench Coxe, but he was one of the most important founding fathers. While the Federalist Papers are celebrated and widely...
- + Northwest Ordinance: Landmark 1787 Law Set the Foundation—On July 13, 1787, the Confederation Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance, one of the most important and influential acts of the early republic. It ...
- + The Supreme Court Was Wrong About Taxes—Along with some good decisions, Supreme Court justices made some mistakes in the term just ended. One mistake involved taxes—and it is likely to bedev...
- + Bringing Back Gold Clause Contracts: A Challenge to the Fed—One of the ways the government maintains its fiat money system is by throwing up legal and regulatory roadblocks to those wanting to use real money. B...
- + The Forgotten Declaration that Explained the War for Independence—We are “resolved to die freemen rather than live slaves.” These powerful words, penned by Thomas Jefferson and John Dickinson, hold a promine...
- + James Madison on the Ignored “Fundamental Principle of the Revolution”—Forget schoolhouse history. James Madison exposed a much deeper truth about the American Revolution. It wasn’t just “taxation without representa...
- + Unlimited Supremacy, Gun Control and the American Revolution—When most people talk about the Revolution – they tend to point to “taxation without representation” as the main reason. Or, they go...
- + The Supreme Court Bump Stock Case: Defeat for the “Deep State”—Justice Clarence Thomas’ opinion for the Supreme Court in Garland v. Cargill —the “bump stock firearms” case—may be more important for what it does n...
- + Power From the People: The Revolutionary Roots of the 10th Amendment—Thomas Jefferson called the 10th Amendment the “foundation of the Constitution,” and for good reason too. It enshrines many of the radical...
- + Free and Independent: The Foreign Policy of Washington and Jefferson—Anxious to preserve their hard-won independence, Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson championed a foreign policy centered on avoiding &#...
- + Was Shays’ Rebellion Overblown? The Debate Over the Constitution—“Never let a good crisis go to waste” isn’t just some modern invention by people who want to expand government power. It seems to be an approach used ...
- + Magna Carta: Cornerstone of Liberty Across the Centuries—June 15 marked a pivotal date in the annals of liberty: the anniversary of the Magna Carta’s signing at Runnymede, England. Over 800 years ago, this “...
- + 2nd Amendment: The Untold Truth Schools Don’t Teach—“Governments are afraid to trust the people with arms” James Madison was a student of history. And this quote, from Federalist 46 – is no ...
- + Pursuit of Happiness: “We Cannot be Happy without Being Free”—The “pursuit of happiness” is a foundational principle enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. In the Founders’ view, this was inextricably link...
- + Timely Lessons About Tyranny from the Father of the Constitution—James Madison, often referred to as the “Father of the Constitution,” once predicted that the Bill of Rights would become mere “parchment barrier,” wo...
- + No Deal for Gun Control: How the American Revolutionaries Defied the Empire—June 12, 1775 – less than 2 months after Lexington and Concord and the “shot heard ‘round the world,” General Gage made an offer he felt the Am...
- + The Pilgrim Code of 1636: English Charter, Christian Covenant, and Modern Constitution—“As freeborn subjects of the state of England, we hither came endowed with all and singular the privileges belonging to such, in the first place we th...
- + Nullify the Fed from the Bottom Up: A Step by Step Approach—With its monopoly on money, the Federal Reserve is the engine that drives the biggest, most powerful government in the history of the world. But...
- + Free Speech on Trial: Jailed But Re-elected—In a time of political turmoil, when criticism of the government could land you behind bars, Matthew Lyon, a congressman and fierce critic of the Fede...
- + From Nixon to Biden: How the US Turned Banks into Spy Networks—“Americans do not have financial privacy, really at all. We have this illusion of financial privacy. ” Cato policy analyst Nicholas Anthony ...
- + American Founder Jonathan Smith’s Inspiring Speech—When the second and third teams are impressive, you know the first team must be really good. Americans studying the Constitution tend to focus on t...
- + Patrick Henry’s Virginia Resolves: Bedrock Principles of American Liberty—On his 29th birthday – May 29, 1765 – Patrick Henry helped spark the American Revolution. His Virginia Resolves against the Stamp Act not ...
- + The Tyranny of the Majority—Does it really matter if the instrument curtailing liberty is a monarch or a popularly elected legislature? This conundrum, along with the witty versi...
- + The Dragnet State: How Geofence Warrants Turn Everyone into a Suspect—Imagine drawing a box on a map and declaring that every person who was within that area during a given time is a suspect in a crime. That is the eff...
- + Understand the Real Meaning of the Necessary and Proper Clause—The Necessary and Proper Clause is arguably the most misunderstood and abused clause in the Constitution. During the ratification debates, Anti...
- + Executive Order 6102: A Deep Dive into FDR’s Gold Confiscation Program—Franklin D. Roosevelt’s gold confiscation order in 1933 attempted to remove most gold from private hands. But due to widespread noncompliance, it ulti...
- + Virtual Home Invasions: We’re Not Safe from Government Peeping Toms—The spirit of the Constitution, drafted by men who chafed against the heavy-handed tyranny of an imperial ruler, would suggest that one’s home is a fo...
- + Beyond the Text: Understanding the Constitution’s Original Meaning—How do we learn the original meaning of the Constitution? A lot of people will say, “Just read it.” That’s an essential first step, but it’s not ...
- + Is Your Car Spying on You?—Last week, Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Edward Markey of Massachusetts revealed that automobiles sold in the United States with a GPS or emergency ca...
- + Which Way Forward for America?—With the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, the American people brought into existence the most unusual way of life in history, one that led to the gr...
- + The Wicked Rebellion: General Clinton’s Amnesty Offer and North Carolina’s Rejection—No deal. That’s pretty much how North Carolina patriots responded to British Major General Henry Clinton’s proclamation condemning what he calle...
- + Edmund Randolph vs the National Bank—After Congress passed a bill to establish the first national bank in early 1791, President George Washington asked Attorney General Edmund Randolph to...
- + The Steady Slide Towards Tyranny: How Freedom Dies from A to Z—The American governmental scheme is sliding ever closer towards a pervasive authoritarianism. The American people, the permanent underclass in Amer...
- + Sovereignty and Agency—In the American political system, the people of the several states are sovereign, meaning they hold final or ultimate authority. Power flows from them...
- + SCOTUS Defends Property Rights, but Raises Constitutional Questions—The current Supreme Court is a vigorous defender of property rights. In general, I like that. But as I observed in a column last year , the court som...
- + The Founders’ Case for a Strong Militia Over Standing Armies—One of the primary reasons the founders wanted a strong militia system with a well-armed general public was to minimize or even eliminate the need for...
- + It Was Gun Control: What Started the War for Independence—The fighting at Lexington and Concord didn’t happen because the British army came to collect taxes. It was gun control. Of course, the go...
- + Thomas Jefferson’s Warnings and Predictions about the Dangers of Money-Printing—Thomas Jefferson’s chilling warnings about unchecked fiat, paper money proved prophetic as the U.S. plunged into its first boom-bust economic cr...
- + Limited or Absolute Power: Warnings from Anti-Federalist Agrippa—The Anti-Federalist writer Agrippa powerfully expressed many of the same reservations about the Constitution as other opponents – that it would ...
- + The Government Wants Your Money Any Way It Can Get It—The government wants your money. It will beg, steal or borrow if necessary, but it wants your money any way it can get it. This is what comes ...
- + A Positive Feedback Loop of Power-Grabbing—The classical liberal philosophy expounded by John Locke and many of the American founders was a brilliant attempt to abolish government by the princi...
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