Rights, Powers and Duties

On every question of construction [of the Constitution] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or intended against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed. — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), letter to Judge William Johnson, (from Monticello, June 12, 1823)

If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. — George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796

Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government. — James Madison

---

Potestas stricte interpretatur. A power is strictly interpreted. In dubiis, non praesumitur pro potentia. In cases of doubt, the presumption is not in favor of a power.

---

Click on the button to get the indicated file format:
Format	HTML	Text	WP	PDF	RTF	Word	Image
Local
Remote

General Constitutional Issues

1. Landmark Court Decisions — Local archive, with commentaries on the rulings and the opinions.
2.    Constitutional Rights, Powers and Duties, Jon Roland
3.    Declaration of Constitutional Principles, Jon Roland
4.       Principles of Constitutional Construction, Jon Roland
5.    Legal Theory of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Jon Roland
6.          Veto Message to Congress, James Madison, March 3, 1817, of public works bill.
7.        Crockett on the Power to Make Charitable Donations
8.          Veto Message to Congress, Franklin Pierce, May 3, 1854, of welfare bill.
9.    Limits on Powers of Congress, Larry Becraft
10.    Interstate Commerce, Larry Becraft
11.  The Demise of the Right-Privilege Distinction in Constitutional Law, William W. Van Alstyne, Harvard Law Review, Vol. 81:1439.
12.  The Original Meaning of the Commerce Clause, Randy E. Barnett, 68 U. Chicago Law Review 101.
13.  Works of Lysander Spooner. Site created by Randy E. Barnett.
14.   Locating the Boundaries: The Scope of Congress's Power to Regulate Commerce, Robert H. Bork and Daniel E. Troy — Current doctrine in conflict with original understanding. Paper delivered at symposium sponsored by U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
15.   On Misreading John Bingham and the Fourteenth Amendment, Richard L. Aynes, Yale Law Journal, October, 1993, Page 57 — Argues that the Fourteenth Amendment was understood by its authors and ratifiers as extending the jurisdiction of U.S. Courts over cases between a citizen and his state over rights protected in the U.S. Constitution.
16.  The Evolving Police Power: Some Observations for a New Century, Glenn H. Reynolds, David B. Kopel, Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, Spring 2000.
17.  The Scholarship of the Original Understanding of the Constitution, Robert G. Natelson, School of Law, University of Montana.
18.   The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions: Guideposts of Limited Government, William J. Watkins, Jr. — These 1798 documents are comparable in importance, for our understanding the Constitution, to the Federalist or Madison's Notes on the Debates in the Federal Convention.
19.  The Forgotten, Newest Amendment: Is It Already A Dead Letter?, by John C. Eastman. Commentary on violations of the 27th Amendment.

Constitutional Interpretative Commentaries by Jon Roland

•   Original Understanding of the Commerce Clause, Jon Roland: July 29, 2002
•   Intent of the Fourteenth Amendment was to Protect All Rights, Jon Roland
•     Public Safety or Bills of Attainder? — Law Review Article: written Jun. 14, 2000, published UWLA LR Vol. 34, 2002
•   The meaning of "Offenses against the Law of Nations"

Specific Constitutional Issues

1.   Veto of federal public works bill — March 3, 1817. Provides important guide to the interpretation of the "general welfare" and "necessary and proper" clauses of the Constitution.
2.  Impeachment
3.  Letters of Marque and Reprisal — Collection of historical examples with analysis.

Nondelegation and the Administrative State — Questions of the legitimacy of delegations of legislative powers to executive branch agencies.

Property and Privacy Rights — We have a separate subsite for this large topic.

Constitutionalism — Sometimes equated with the "Rule of Law", holds that government can and should be legally limited in its powers, and that its authority depends on enforcing those limitations.