original understanding - Independence Institute

The ideas that formed the Constitution, Part 13: Tacitus

The most important lesson the Founders learned from Tacitus was that power corrupts.

No, a Convention of States Could Not Change the “One State/One Vote” Rule

Could a convention of states could change the “one state/one vote” rule to one based on population? The short answer is “No.” In at least 42 conventions of states and colonies over 350+years, there is no precedent for such a change. The possibility exists only in the fantasies of convention opponents. Defenders of the federal […]

The ideas that formed the Constitution, part 12: Plutarch

About 40 percent of the title characters in Plutarch’s biographies ended up as pen names in the constitutional debates,

The ideas that formed the Constitution, Part 11: Livy

After studying him in school, as adults, many of the Founders remained devoted to Livy.

The ideas that formed the Constitution, Part 10: Virgil alone

Participants in the ratification debates could supplement English by using Virgil’s expressions . . . Virgil gave their message more force.

Yet more evidence comes to light that an amendments convention is a “convention of the states”

Founding era state legislative records show beyond doubt that an amendments convention is a “convention of the states”

New Study Finds Administrative State Unconstitutional

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.