Constitution

Some Reflections on the Right to Bear Arms

by Richard M. Ebeling September 1, 2001

For millions of Americans the Second Amendment and its right for the individual to bear arms appears irrelevant and practically anachronistic. It seems a throwback to those earlier days of the Wild West, when many men, far from the law and order provided by the town sheriff and circuit judge, ...

Liberty and the Constitution

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2001

ONE OF THE MOST COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS in the United States is that people’s rights come from the Constitution. Without the Constitution, it is believed, people wouldn’t have such rights as freedom of expression and religion. People should be grateful to the Founding Fathers, it is said, for establishing the vehicle by which people could have such rights as life, ...

The Myth of Self-Government

by Sheldon Richman July 1, 2001

AMERICANS PRIDE THEMSELVES on what we may call the Great American Myth of Self-Government. But in a very real sense we are governed not by ourselves but by a collection of men and women quite separate from ourselves. That, of course, is contrary to everything we learn in school. Then, again, most of those schools belong to some government. Think back ...

What Is Golf?

by Sheldon Richman July 1, 2001

So now the courts are writing the rules for professional sports. What’s next? Will they soon tell us that sometimes two of a kind beats a full house? On May 29 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that the PGA Tour has to let Casey Martin ride in a golf ...

The Declaration and the Constitution

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 1, 2001

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION was one of the most remarkable periods in history, not so much for the military battles that were fought but for the ideas and principles that were expressed during that time. Foremost among the documents expressing those ideas and principles are the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, which are inexorably intertwined. Throughout history, people have viewed ...

VMI on the Dole

by Jacob G. Hornberger April 1, 2001

VMI is back in the news. Two cadets, with the assistance of the ACLU, are asking the school to terminate religious prayers before supper in the VMI mess hall. VMI superintendent Josiah Bunting III has responded by saying that he is ready for a court fight, proclaiming that "the Constitution does ...

The Continuing War With Iraq

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 1, 2001

A few weeks ago, under the leadership of President Bush, U.S. military forces again dropped bombs on the people of Iraq, purportedly to maintain strict control over the 10-year-old "no-fly zone" in Iraq. A couple of days ago, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell announced his support for easing the ...

The Second Amendment Protects an Individual Right

by Benedict D. LaRosa January 1, 2001

THERE IS A popular misconception that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution refers to a collective right rather than an individual right. Both history and reason argue against this misinterpretation. The right to self- (and collective) defense does not originate with, nor is it dependent upon, the Second Amendment. Man has ...

No One Is Qualified

by Sheldon Richman December 1, 2000

WHEN YOU CLEAR away all of the obfuscation from presidential campaigns, the entire process comes down to each candidates accusing the others of not being qualified for the office. This was certainly true in the 2000 presidential campaign. And every candidate who said or implied that about his opponents was absolutely right. No one is qualified to be president. No ...

Don’t Just Keep the Electoral College; Repeal the 17th Amendment

by Sheldon Richman December 1, 2000

In the heat of the electoral controversy — the worst possible time to make constitutional decisions — many people, such as Senator-elect Hillary Rodham Clinton, are calling for an end to the Electoral College. Big mistake. Someone once said, Don’t knock down a wall merely because you cannot immediately see what ...

Lincoln Crossing the Rubicon

by Charles Adams November 1, 2000

WHEN THE CIVIL WAR started in the Roman Republic, Julius Caesar defied the civil authority and crossed the River Rubicon in 49 B.C. This was a violation of the Roman constitution, for no army was to cross the Rubicon and enter Rome under arms. Within a few months Caesar was the ...

The Constitution: Liberties of the People and Powers of Government, Part 2

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 1, 2000

Part 1 | Part 2 In 1787, the Constitution of the United States called into existence the federal government. What was significant, however, was that it was a government whose powers were expressly limited by the people. Throughout history, government officials had exercised omnipotent power over their citizenry. Of course, there had been some exceptions, such as Magna Carta in ...