Explore Freedom

Economic Liberty and the Constitution, Part 3

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2002

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |  Table of Contents Throughout the ages, governments have regulated the economic affairs ... [click for more]

Economic Liberty and the Constitution, Part 2

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 1, 2002

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |  Table of Contents THE PRIMARY SIGNIFICANCE of the Declaration of Independence lay ... [click for more]

Economic Liberty and the Constitution, Part 1

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 1, 2002

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |  Table of Contents IN 1905, the constitutionality of Joseph Lochner’s criminal conviction by the ... [click for more]

Rights Belong to Individuals

by Sheldon Richman June 1, 2002

If you want insight into the mentality of the intellectual elite, observe the hysterical reaction to the Bush administration’s declaration that the right to keep and bear arms is — horror! — an individual right. In two U.S. Supreme Court briefs filed by the Justice Department on May 6, Solicitor General ... [click for more]

Freedom and Campaign-Finance Reform

by Jacob G. Hornberger April 1, 2002

Amidst not very much fanfare, President Bush has signed the new campaign-finance reform bill into law. This one closes the so-called soft-money loophole that permits large donations to be injected into federal campaigns through contributions to political parties. There are two big problems, however, with this most recent attempt to end corruption in the political process: First, it won’t work ... [click for more]

Bush’s Contempt for Trial by Jury

by Jacob G. Hornberger April 1, 2002

BOWING TO PUBLIC PRESSURE, the Bush administration has modified its rules for the trials of suspected terrorists captured abroad. Included among the new rules are: (1) the accused will be presumed innocent rather than guilty; (2) the government will be required to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; (3) the defendant will have the right to have an attorney ... [click for more]

Civil Liberty and the State: The Writ of Habeas Corpus

by Richard M. Ebeling April 1, 2002

LIMITING THE POWERS OF GOVERNMENT has been one of the leading struggles in the history of mankind. Through most of man’s time on earth, governments have presumed to rule, command, order, and threaten multitudes of human beings — to make the mass of humanity bend to the will of their political masters. The political rulers have often considered themselves to ... [click for more]

Declaring and Waging War: The U.S. Constitution

by Jacob G. Hornberger April 1, 2002

Excuse me for asking an indelicate question in the midst of war, but where does President Bush derive the power to send the United States into war against another nation? The question becomes increasingly important given that the president has indicated that once the Afghan War has been brought to a conclusion, he intends to ... [click for more]

Thank Goodness for the Bill of Rights!

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 2, 2002

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s recent admission that a U.S. raid in Afghanistan mistakenly killed 16 innocent people suggests how grateful Americans should be that their ancestors insisted on the inclusion of a Bill of Rights as a condition of adopting the U.S. Constitution. While the U.S. raiders were convinced that the victims of the ... [click for more]

Did the Framers Forget the Bill of Rights?

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 1, 2002

AFTER THE CONSTITUTION WAS RATIFIED in 1788, the states adopted the first 10 amendments, which became known as the Bill of Rights. Given the importance of the provisions in those amendments, an obvious question arises: Why didn’t the Framers of the Constitution include those provisions in the original Constitution, thereby obviating the need to amend the document so soon ... [click for more]

Declare War before Waging War, Part 2

by Doug Bandow February 1, 2002

Part 1 | Part 2 Naturally, presidents and their aides have been creative in coming up with reasons to short-circuit the Constitution’s clear requirement. Those who thus torture the Constitution include many conservatives who normally proclaim the importance of “original intent. ” Except when they want to empower politicians to do what they want. One ... [click for more]

Did the Founders of the Constitution Forget the Bill of Rights?

by Jacob G. Hornberger February 1, 2002

After the Constitution was ratified in 1788, the states adopted the first ten amendments, which became known as the Bill of Rights. Given the importance of the provisions in those amendments, an obvious question arises: Why didn't the Framers of the Constitution include those provisions in the original Constitution, thereby obviating the ... [click for more]