The most ‘underrated’ founder’s influence on America’s Constitution
This much is clear: John Dickinson receives much more of our national gratitude than we have given him.
Drafting a Balanced Budget Amendment: It’s tougher than you might think
Of course, it is one thing to criticize, but another to try to craft something better.
The last convention of states ever held? It Centered on the Upper Colorado River
“This latest convention of states operated according to standard convention of states protocols.”
Fake News: How Leading Liberal Newspapers Spread the “Runaway Convention” Story
Although there were scattered antecedents, “runaway convention” claims and certain associated myths were first distributed widely during the 1960s and 1970s. In a previous Article V Information Center study, I documented how those stories were publicized by leading opinion-molders in the national liberal establishment. Their goal was to disable the Article V convention process to […]
The Convention of States in American History
In this short essay, constitutional historian Rob Natelson thumbnails the three-centuries long history of “conventions of the states.” When delegations from the states assemble in Phoenix, Arizona later this year, they will be basking in a long and rich American tradition. As far back as 1677, British colonies in North America sent “commissioners” (delegates) to […]
Convention Rules for a Convention of the States
The convention of the states meeting in Phoenix, Arizona in September will need a set of rules. Moreover, that convention will be engaged in further rule-writing because the Arizona Legislature called it partly to suggest rules for a prospective Article V Convention for Proposing Amendments. I suggest the planners start with the Model Rules provided […]
How Progressives Promoted the “Runaway Convention” Myth To Protect the “Warren Court’s” Judicial Activism
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. But it has long frightened Americans away from […]
Yes, the Constitution was adopted legally
An old myth has showed up in the media again: the myth that delegates to the 1787 Constitution Convention violated their trust—that they produced a new constitution although empowered only to propose amendments to the Articles of Confederation. Fortunately, the claim that the 1787 convention had no authority to propose a new constitution is pure […]
First National Convention of States in 150 Years!
Americans finally have a real chance to “clean up the mess in Washington.” That’s the implication of the news that the Arizona legislature has called the first national “convention of states” in over 150 years. The conclave will meet in Phoenix on September 12. Its purpose is to plan for a later convention to propose […]
Jon Caldara Interviews Rob Natelson on Article V and Anti-Reform Suppression Efforts
The 1889 St. Louis Convention of States
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 […]
Constitutional Convention: John Jay Letter Shows Its Power Came from State Legislatures, not Congress
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 […]
