What Is Tonnage?
Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 (I-10-3) of the Constitution forbids states from imposing any “Duty of Tonnage” without the consent of Congress. During the Founding Era, tonnage was a levy imposed on the cargo capacity of ships entering or leaving harbors. As the Constitution’s words indicate, it was a species in a larger class […]
New U.S. House Rule: A Hopeful Sign for an Amendments Convention
As the likelihood of a Convention for Proposing Amendments increases, people are beginning to adjust to the idea. A recent example is adoption of a new rule by the U.S. House of Representatives providing for the recording and public availability of state legislative applications for a convention. The rule change, sponsored by Rep. Steve Stivers […]
What is an “Excise?”
Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the Constitution reads as follows: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the Common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United […]
Article V Opponents Now Peddling Article 23 Years Out of Date
The latest tactic in Article V opponents’ game of “Whac-A-Mole”* is the circulation of an article 23 years out of date. The article was published in 1992 and is entitled A New Constitutional Convention? Critical Look at Questions Answered, and Not Answered, by Article Five of the United States Constitution. It was authored by John […]
Update on Article V and the Necessary and Proper Clause
Some people have asked for further clarification on why the Constitution’s Necessary and Proper Clause does not grant Congress power to use its convention call to regulate a Convention for Proposing Amendments. This is a technical area and can be difficult to grasp (or explain, for that matter). You have to understand the nature of […]
Is Obama Violating the “Take Care” Clause?
The Constitution requires the President to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” This “take Care” language came from 18th century commissions and formal instructions by which higher officials delineated what lower officials were to do. The premier examples were royal instructions to colonial governors, but the Continental and Confederation Congresses used the same […]
Resisting Federal Usurpation: Comments by Theophilus Parsons
Several years ago, I wrote on this site about the contributions to the American Founding of Josiah Quincy. Another little-known Founder who should be more widely celebrated today was Theophilus Parsons. Parsons was from the same Massachusetts circle that produced Quincy. He was an an outstanding lawyer and an eloquent spokesman for republican government and […]
Get the Latest Edition of Rob’s popular book: THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION!!
Get the latest edition of the popular work, The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant. You can buy it in either hard copy or Kindle form here.
The Constitution’s Grants To Persons and Entities Outside the U.S. Government
A little known aspect of our Constitution is that it delegates power, not just to the U.S. Government and to its units, but also to persons and entities outside the U.S. Government. In each case, the power to act is derived ultimately from the Constitution. Even when those persons or entities are states or officeholders […]
New II Backgrounder Explains the “Convention of States” Constitutional Amendment Process
A new II Backgrounder contains a brief and clear explanation of how the people, through their state legislatures, can address federal dysfunction while bypassing Congress. The Backgrounder is the first publication of II’s new “Article V Information Center.” You can read it here.
Principles for Drafting A Balanced Budget Amendment
This article originally appeared at The American Thinker. The Article V Handbook, which I authored for the American Legislative Exchange Council, emphasizes that citizens pressing for constitutional amendments should avoid fringe or unpopular proposals. The Handbook distills four guiding principles for selecting amendments worthy of support: (1) An amendment should move America back toward Founding […]
More Evidence An Article V Convention is a “Convention of the States”
Earlier this year, I documented one of the reasons we know an Article V convention is a “convention of the states” rather than a mass popular gathering: Founding Era documents tell us so. I listed several such documents. (Subsequent to the Founding, in the case of Smith v. Union Bank, the Supreme Court also referred […]
