Participants in the ratification debates could supplement English by using Virgil’s expressions . . . Virgil gave their message more force.
The ideas that formed the Constitution, Part 10: Virgil alone Read More »
Founding era state legislative records show beyond doubt that an amendments convention is a “convention of the states”
Sometimes “our democracy” just doesn’t seem to matter.
Congress’s new attack on democracy & the Constitution Read More »
When the framers and ratifiers used the phrase “regulate Commerce” they meant “regulate trade.” Both “regulate commerce” and “regulate trade” meant to administer the body of jurisprudence known as the law merchant.
New Study Finds Administrative State Unconstitutional Read More »
If the American Founding had a poet laureate, Virgil would be it.
The ideas that formed the Constitution, Part 9: Virgil and other poets Read More »
During the Founding era, the phrase “regulate Commerce” had a very specific meaning
The real Commerce Clause—as the Founders knew it Read More »
Cicero’s views are reflected in some of the Constitution’s specific provisions.
Ideas that Formed the Constitution, Part 7: Cicero Read More »
In the debate over the Constitution, both sides looked to Polybius for ammunition.
The ideas that formed the Constitution, part 6: Polybius Read More »
Some Federalists expressed pride in the Constitution precisely because they considered it more reality-based than Plato’s “Republic.”
The ideas that formed the Constitution, Part 4: the pioneers: Socrates, Xenophon, Plato Read More »
Eighteenth-century education encompassed religion, music, and English. . . . But the heart of the curriculum was made up of the Greco-Roman classics.
The ideas that formed the Constitution, Part 2: The Founders’ education Read More »
These essays will focus on the writers who taught the Founders their political lessons—their lessons in republicanism, in political organization, and in political virtue.
First in a series: The ideas that formed the Constitution Read More »
Many writings by law professors merely serve a political agenda and do not meet the minimal qualifications for real scholarship
