Article 5

How progressives promoted the ‘runaway convention’ myth to save judicial activism 0
- May 7, 2017
You may have heard alarms that if we hold a national convention for proposing constitutional amendments the gathering would be an uncontrollable constitutional convention (“con-con”) that could propose anything at all. The claim is called the “runaway scenario.” It has almost no basis in history or law.
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Jon Caldara Interviews Rob Natelson on Article V and Anti-Reform Suppression Efforts 0
- March 21, 2017
https://youtu.be/QkuyJhiu5QoREAD MORE
The 1889 St. Louis Convention of States 0
- February 11, 2017
A frequent argument against a convention for proposing constitutional amendments is that there are “no precedents” for determining the rules and procedures for such a gathering, other than the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Although opponents persist in this claim, it has long been debunked: The Constitutional Convention was far from the only meeting of its
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State Lawmakers! Don’t Put Extraneous Matter in Your Article V Application 0
- January 20, 2017
by Robert G. Natelson State lawmakers sponsoring an Article V convention application often find that other lawmakers want to add extraneous matter to the application. This may include conditions beyond the mere subject-matter, instructions to commissioners, specific amendment language, convention rules, and pronouncements of various kinds. Don’t agree! Adding such material is both unprofessional and
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Constitutional Convention: John Jay Letter Shows Its Power Came from State Legislatures, not Congress 0
- January 14, 2017
A persistent constitutional myth has it that (1) Congress called the Constitutional Convention under the Articles of Confederation, (2) the convention drew its power from Congress, and (3) the convention exceeded its power when it recommended a new Constitution rather than merely propose amendments to the Articles. As readers of this website know, however, the
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This Resolution Suggests Congress Did Agree to a Broad Constitutional Convention 0
- October 27, 2016
On April 23, 1787, the Confederation Congress extended the post office franking privilege to all commissioners about to attend the Constitutional Convention. In other words, Congress gave to convention delegates the same privilege to send and receive free mail its own members enjoyed. Why is that important? Because it tends to show that Congress accepted
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