original understanding Archives - Page 3 of 21

Defending the Constitution: The ‘Three-Fifths Compromise’ was not based on racism 0
- March 29, 2021
If you assume that counting persons is the proper basis for congressional representation, it’s easy to see how one could misread the reduction for slaves and the exclusion of non-tax-paying Indians as expressions of racism. However, many, probably most, of the framers did not think counting persons was the proper basis for representation.
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How states should push back against the Biden administration 0
- March 22, 2021
States can refuse to cooperate with a federal program or enforce an unconstitutional federal law.
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The Founders warned us about abuses like H.R. 1 0
- March 18, 2021
Based on the Constitution’s text and history, Congress’s power to regulate its own elections should be narrowly construed.
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H.R. 1 would create chaos only a constitutional amendment could fix 0
- March 16, 2021
H.R. 1 contains some sections that are perfectly constitutional . . . .But they are intertwined with provisions that are clearly (or arguably) unconstitutional. This intertwining would take decades of litigation to unravel.
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How a ‘Convention of States’ really works 0
- March 4, 2021
Frantic claims that it’s a “constitutional convention” … or that it can issue a new document or “radically re-write” the existing one … or change the ratification procedure—none of these have any legal or historical basis.
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When Can an Originalist Scholar Begin with the Constitution’s Text?0
- March 1, 2021
Sometimes after examining the text it even remains unclear whether that text is unclear! What seems obvious on initial examination may be entirely wrong.
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