Founding Document

State Sovereignty & the Politics of the 1780s

State Sovereigntists made their biggest stand over the Treaty of Peace. Their resistance to the Treaty played a critical role in shaping how Americans understood the role state sovereignty played in both the constitutional system and politics... The American Revolution, State Sovereignty, and...

The Nationalists at the Continental Congress

Had the Nationalists carried the day in 1776 and turned the Continental Congress into a national government, implied powers would have been the normal constitutional practice from the moment of independence... The American Revolution, State Sovereignty, and the American Constitutional Settlement, 1765-1800 by N....

The Articles of Confederation and State Sovereignty

Article II of the Articles of Confederation codified that one of the purposes of the American Revolution was the protection of state sovereignty, by making state sovereignty a fundamental aspect of the American constitutional order... The American Revolution, State Sovereignty, and the American...

What Is the Constitution For?

The U.S. Constitution is important, and great, precisely because it recognizes that people and their rights are social by nature, and must remain rooted in their communities if we are to enjoy the benefits of ordered liberty under the rule of law...

Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments

Editor's Note: On June 20, 1785, as a member of the Virginia legislature, James Madison authored the following essay. It was meant to serve as a petition expressing opposition to the idea that Virginia's citizens should be taxed to...