The Constitutional Studies Center combines careful, objective scholarship into the original understanding of the Constitution with advocacy for human freedom under law. It produces books, issue papers, articles, and legal briefs reporting the results of its research. Since 2010, the Center has had enormous influence on constitutional law cases and commentary, but also on policy makers and grass roots activists. For example, the Center’s research findings galvanized the massive and growing “Article V” movement to restore constitutional limits on the federal government.
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Latest Posts
Justice Thomas, Quoting Rob Natelson, Had the Constitution Correct In the Arizona Citizenship-for-Voting Case0
- June 25, 2013
NOTE: This is the first of several short commentaries on recent Supreme Court decisions. The Supreme Court recently ruled that Arizona’s law requiring proof of citizenship for voting violates federal statutes. In his dissent, Justice Thomas relied heavily on my own research. The Independence Institute did not participate in that case. So how did it
READ MOREWithout The Constitution You Might Be Someone’s Slave Today—And Other Crucial Facts About The Founding0
- June 15, 2013
On June 14, I keynoted a conference on the American Founding. The conference was sponsored by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, an educational and publishing non-profit that focuses on civic education for college students. The keynote included six crucial facts about the framing and ratification of our Constitution: First: The Constitution was the product of careful
READ MOREThe Breakdown of America0
- June 8, 2013
A nation’s health and prosperity depends on good institutions. These institutions are political and private. Good political institutions include balanced government with a significant amount of popular control, the rule of law, freedom from corruption, and respect for individual rights. Good private sector institutions include free and open markets and positive moral codes in religious
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The Constitutional Convention Did Not Exceed Its Power and the Constitution is not “Unconstitutional”0
- June 2, 2013
Judging by recent claims in the media such as this one, there is still a lot of life in the old tale (dating back to the Anti-Federalists) that the 1787 federal convention “ran away” and that the Constitution was unconstitutionally adopted. I’ve dealt with both claims in this column occasionally (see, e.g., here and here),
READ MOREMyth-Busting: The “Roman Condominium” Myth0
- May 26, 2013
Much of my scholarly research is designed to set the historical record straight—essentially myth-busting. For reasons I’ll explain another time, most legal writers are terrible historians. They tend to cherry-pick history to promote a case, and when there aren’t enough historical facts, they sometimes make them up. My efforts to correct the record are best
READ MOREFederalism (“States’ Rights”) Get Short Shrift in Colorado Judicial Exhibit0
- May 19, 2013
I recently visited the new Ralph Carr Colorado Judicial Center—the huge and incredibly expensive building complex that now houses the Colorado Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. But even after spending $258 million, they couldn’t get one sign right. An exhibit there has the worthy purpose of educating the public about the rule of law.
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Contact
Rob Natelson, Senior Fellow, Constitutional Jurisprudence
Email: rob.natelson1@gmail.com
Phone: 303-279-6536, ext 114