U.S. Defense Spending, FY 1900 to FY 2012

Explaining the constitutional set-up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, Morrisey discusses differences between the Constitution and the previous Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation had outlined a federal government in which all three powers—legislative, executive, and judicial—resided entirely in one Congress. This was...

One of the most publicized and recent uses of the "general welfare" language has been in the passage of the health care bill. Although initially President Obama had declared that it would not result in any new taxes, he'd been forced to recant that position in order to defend its constitutionality under Article I, Section 8.

"...

"It seems that the House Judiciary Committee is considering seeking help from the Justice Department to enforce contempt citations against Bush administration officials such as Joshua Bolten who refuse to respond to congressional inquiries into alleged White House wrongdoing. That would be a mistake.

Such a strategy leaves Congress beholden to hostile executive branch officials to...

"It has been years since the Constitution has had any meaningful impact on what is done in Washington. True, no one challenges the structural provisions — there are a hundred senators, presidential elections are held every four years, etc. And there are lots of court battles over application of the Bill of Rights, largely because it protects some liberties favored by the Left.

But most...

This school lesson plan includes a section on separation of powers but goes on to ask students, "How is the Constitution a living document?"

"The context for understanding contemporary political debates regarding judicial power is provided by a proper account of the theory and history of judicial review. Judicial review is not the limited power now that it was in 1789; it has been transformed into something new and completely different. It is impossible to understand current debates -- such as bitterly contested judicial...

"The Republican-run House voted Thursday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, protesting his refusal to turn over documents related to the 'Fast and Furious' gun-trafficking investigation.

GOP lawmakers cast Holder as an obstructionist in the probe of a botched operation that contributed to the death of a border patrol agent; Holder and White House officials...

"The House of Representatives voted Thursday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for refusing to turn over documents tied to the botched Fast and Furious gun-running sting -- a discredited operation that has become a sharp point of contention between Democrats and Republicans in Washington.

The House approved a pair of criminal and civil measures against the attorney...

"The GOP-led House voted Thursday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for failing to provide key information pertaining to Operation Fast and Furious, making Holder the first sitting Cabinet member to be held in contempt.

The vote was 255-67, with 17 Democrats breaking ranks to side with Republicans in favor of contempt.

The vote follows a roughly 16-...

"House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that the individual health insurance mandates included in every health reform bill, which require Americans to have insurance, were 'like paying taxes.' He added that Congress has 'broad authority' to force Americans to purchase other things as well, so long as it was trying to promote 'the general welfare.'

"Back in June, the American Civil Liberties Union launched a new Web hub called Spy Files, which promises to be an invaluable resource for those of us who make a point of watching the watchers. Probably the most interesting document available on the site at launch was a thorough state by state survey of law enforcement surveillance of protected political and...

"The framers of a constitution who want to make it a charter of liberties and not just a set of constitutive rules face a difficult choice. They can write specific provisions and thereby doom their work to rapid obsolescence, or they can write general provisions, thereby allowing substantial discretion to the authoritative interpreters, who in our system are the judges. The U.S. Constitution...

"For over a century after its signing in September 1787, the United States Constitution was upheld by a citizenry which, by and large, appreciated it both in letter and spirit, and sought to live according to its ideal of limited government protecting individual rights.

But toward the end of the nineteenth century, and especially since the 1930′s, more and more Americans began to accept...

"The phrase 'general welfare' appears twice in the Constitution -- first in the preamble (which grants no authority to Congress, but simply states the broad objectives underlying the Constitution), and second in Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 (the "Spending Clause"). Both James Madison and Alexander Hamilton viewed the phrase as a limitation on the spending power, one that was intended to make...

Lim reminds us that the American founders enacted a system of checks and balances, purposefully rendering change in government a difficult task. Although modern presidents have consistently proposed forms of administrative change under their leadership, slow government progress should not frustrate us. This is the deliberate, careful system our Constitution...

Contemporary controversies such as the individual mandate involved in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) demand an appreciation for the United States Constitution. The document was not, contrary to belief, a celebration of unrestrained democracy but, rather, a safeguard for individual rights.

In this commentary, Armey argues that the founding fathers envisioned a country with limited government and taxation, submitting that that is not the case today.

"Our Founding Fathers designed a constitutional system based on the rule of law to protect the individual from an overbearing federal government. The government was to...

"The most conservative principle of the Founding Fathers was distrust of unchecked power. Centuries of experience substantiated that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Men are not angels. Ambition must be made to counteract ambition to avert abuses or tyranny. The Constitution embraced a separation of powers to keep the legislative, executive, and judicial...

"The Supreme Court on Monday ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that officials may strip-search people arrested for any offense, however minor, before admitting them to jails even if the officials have no reason to suspect the presence of contraband.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, joined by the court's conservative wing, wrote that courts are in no position to second-guess the judgments of...

"We Americans find ourselves faced with the disquieting specter of a five trillion dollar national debt, a sum truly inconceivable. Many economists and politicians tell us this debt portends a disastrous financial collapse in the future and we worry. Once debt free, we are now the largest debtor nation in the world and as we find ourselves on the precipice we are...

"In response to an unprecedented expansion of federal power, citizens have held hundreds of 'tea party' rallies around the country, and various states are considering 'sovereignty resolutions' invoking the Constitution's Ninth and Tenth Amendments. For example, Michigan's proposal urges 'the federal government to halt its practice of imposing mandates upon the...

"The incoming Republican House majority intends to require that all legislation cite specific constitutional authority. Tea party activists are calling themselves constitutional conservatives. A federal judge ruled Obamacare to be unconstitutional.

Many in Washington are worried. The idea that the Constitution is relevant to the operation of the federal government is a frightening...

"Once President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress have passed a health care reform bill, conservative groups are likely to challenge parts of it as unconstitutional, arguing that it oversteps Congress's powers. A key target will be the individual mandate, which is designed to coax uninsured persons into purchasing insurance.

"The Exclusionary Rule is available to a Defendant in a criminal case as a remedy for illegal searches that violate the rights set forth in the Fourth Amendment. When applicable, the rule dictates that the evidence illegally obtained must be excluded as evidence under the Fourth Amendment. See Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643. One important corollary...

"With a reformer's zeal, President Bush is plunging into federally funded faith-based charity. He says it will be less costly and more effective than programs run by government bureaucrats. Probably so. But apart from the dispute over separation of church and state, there's a compelling constitutional case against federal welfare programs, no matter who administers...

"American government under the Constitution was supposedly meant to work as follows: Congress, staying within delegated powers and the Bill of Rights, passes laws; the president executes the laws; and the courts sort out ensuing wrangles. This plan ran aground rather early—the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts, for example—which raises at least two possibilities: 1) The Federalist movement...

"What are appropriate sources of authority to guide interpretation of the Constitution and what relative weight should be assigned to the various appropriate sources?

There are five basic sources that have guided interpretation of the Constitution: (1) the text and structure of the Constitution, (2) intentions of those who drafted, voted to propose, or voted to ratify the provision in...

"Americans are beginning to question the constitutionality of proposed programs such as government run health care. In response to these challenges, a misinterpretation of the 'General Welfare' clause seems to be the common support for such Federal programs. This article examines what the General Welfare clause actually means."

"A somewhat more direct measure of regulatory activity is found in the Federal Register, which has served as a daily compendium of federal rules and notices since 1936. Figure 6 illustrates how pages in the Federal Register have increased during national wars. Moreover, the rate of growth in Federal Register pages does not return to pre-war rates, but rather appears...

"The history of real (2000 dollars) federal government expenditures per capita from 1792 to 2004 is shown in Figure 1."

"Figure 3 shows the real dollar increase in social and economic regulatory spending by presidential term between 1960 and 2009. Only full-term presidents are represented in this chart. During both his terms, President Bush outspent his predecessors on social and economic regulatory agencies. During his first term, he increased spending on social regulatory agencies by $7.6 billion, almost...

This chart demonstrates the growth in government education expenditures since 1900. Education spending especially accelerated after the creation of the Department of Education in 1980.

This chart demonstrates the growth of U.S. transportation expenditures in the last century. The transportation spending budget has gradually grown to nearly $300 billion.

"The Civil War often is seen as a turning point in the history of American federalism. In one sense the truth of this perception is beyond dispute. Had the South secured secession by force of arms, the Union would have been broken, the federal system disrupted. There is no telling what the consequences for attitudes toward federalism the world over would have been...

"The theory behind aid to the states is that federal policymakers can design and operate programs in the national interest to efficiently solve local problems. In practice, most federal politicians are not inclined to pursue broad, national goals; they are consumed by the competitive scramble to secure subsidies for their states. At the same time, federal aid...

"At the command of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, I have often written about the need for students to understand why they are Americans — so they can act as informed citizens. This is the inspirational story of 21-year-old architecture student Aaron Tobey, who was outraged at the violation of his civil liberties by the Transportation Security Authority's...

"The context for understanding contemporary political debates regarding judicial power is provided by a proper account of the theory and history of judicial review. Judicial review is not the limited power now that it was in 1789; it has been transformed into something new and completely different. It is impossible to understand current debates—such as bitterly contested judicial nominations...

"To consider liberty in relation to the Constitution is to enter upon a subject of some ambiguity. Which Constitution are we to consider? The document has undergone dramatic shifts in its coverage and in its meaning over the course of our history. The unamended document ratified in 1787 had little explicit to say about individual liberties. Aside from provisions...

"Crisis and Leviathan is indeed the theme of this essay. Inspired by the scale of post-9/11 actions taken by government and the fact that this national crisis is the first to emerge since Higgs' book, we seek to do three things. First, we will describe the mood change that affected public opinion about government. If Higgs' thesis is to hold, the will of the body politic must somehow be...

In the Anglo-American constitutional tradition, judicial checks and balances are often seen as crucial guarantees of freedom. Hayek distinguishes two ways in which the judiciary provides such checks and balances: judicial independence and constitutional review. The authors discuss these differences and create a new database of constitutional rules in 71 countries...

Underscoring the tremendous historical accomplishment of limited government, the handbook identifies the roots of free society as far back as the higher laws of the ancient Hebrews and Greeks. Reiterating the supremacy of law over man, the handbook urges modern legislators to avoid delegating power to bureaucracies, on the grounds that these procedures sidestep the...

Montesquieu is famously heralded for directly inspiring the framers of the United States Constitution. Zuckert re-examines Montesquieu's actual philosophy, highlighting the manner in which the founders internalized Montesquieu's thoughts in consistent and divergent ways that eventually translated into America's core framework.

"Our modern regulatory and redistributive state--the state the Framers sought explicitly to prohibit--has arisen largely since 1937, and primarily through just two clauses in the Constitution, the commerce clause and the general welfare clause, respectively. It is striking that this is so, for if the Framers had meant for Congress to be able to do virtually...

"The size of the U.S. federal government, as well as state and local governments, increased dramatically during the 20th century. This paper reviews several theories of government size and growth that are dominant in the public choice and political science literature. The theories are divided into two categories: citizen-over-state theories and state-over-citizen theories. The relationship...

One provision in the PATRIOT Act decreases the oversight the FBI needs for issuing National Security Letters. These letters require ISPs to provide information on their clients to the government. Patrick Garlinger explains why current Fourth Amendment jurisprudence fails to protect information hosted by a third party, why some parties have utilized First Amendment...

Ethridge highlights the Progressive attempt to evade checks and balances by delegating power to bureaucratic agencies. Indeed, the efficiently responsive government Progressives prefer has not translated into social equality. In contrast, the U.S. Constitution, as intended by the framers, fosters heated debate by design. This way, when policy does formulate, it...

The United States Constitution was a dramatic revision of the earlier Articles of Confederation in that it established the powers of a national and federal government. What underlies this shift and what can the Federalist Papers tell us about the Federalists' motivations?

Clancy provides a detailed background of 18th century debates on warrants and the Fourth Amendment. He specifically focuses on John Adams' contributions. He offers answers to the question of what protections the Founders would have understood the Fourth Amendment to offer. According to Clancy, "That jurisprudence offered a structured series of principles to...

"Starting in 2014, the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, P.L. 111-148) will require most U.S. residents to purchase health insurance or pay a financial 'penalty' to the government. This provision, popularly called the individual mandate, is the linchpin of some of the PPACA's most significant reforms. Many commentators have argued...

Meese relays why the Constitution of the United States, coupled with the philosophies of the Declaration of Independence, outlined the principles of America's unique and liberating government.

Adams discusses the history of American sentiments towards taxation before and after the signing of the Constitution, also elaborating on the restrictions of the General Welfare clause:

"The 'general Welfare' clause was also held up to be a restriction on government spending. It did not mean anything in general, quite to the...

"The doctrinal incoherence of Fourth Amendment law disturbs many judges and scholars. ...

Given the unsatisfactory quality of Fourth Amendment doctrine, attorneys and scholars have demonstrated a renewed interest in the original understanding and...

"There has recently been a resurgence in support of the 10th Amendment by the 'Tenthers' in the recent wave of government expansions, especially with the recent passage of the healthcare overhaul. Roger Pilon gives a brief history of what the Constitution was originally intended to accomplish, and how that paradigm changed in the 1930s. Since the New Deal the...

"Libertarian, Michael Badnarik teaches a class on the Constitution. If you like Ron Paul and follow his message of freedom, this is a MUST WATCH!!! Most of what you think you know about the United States is wrong. Think you own your Car? Think its your money? Why do we have to register your car and get plates? Think you own Your property? He explains the differences between rights and...

"Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts addressed students at the University of Alabama Law School about the history of the U.S. Supreme Court. Following his remarks he responded to questions from audience members. In response to a student, Justice Roberts said the Senate's confirmation process for federal judges is 'broken down' and stated that President Obama's...

This video is part of a question and answer session with Judge Andrew P. Napolitano, senior judicial analyst for Fox News and host of the television program, Freedom Watch, on the Fox Business Network. 

If you fast-forward to the 1:16 mark in this video, Judge Napolitano provides a very succinct explanation of...

"We ask moms on the street what they know about the Constitution. Can you answer the questions? Does it matter?"

"We often hear much about the perils of judicial activism and how a judge's proper role is as interpreter of law, not maker of law. However, in a world where much binding precedent has been decided on grounds other than original intent, this restrained view of the judiciary is sometimes thought to stand often in stark contrast with the originalist movement. Originalists have had two ways of...

In this video, Rand Paul and Judge Andrew Napolitano discuss the historical importance of the 4th Amendment, as well as its erosion today.

This satirical piece mocks Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal by creating a "New Constitution" consistent with FDR's policies.

Calling a special session in order to acquire permission to pay for the war against the South, Lincoln lays out the reasoning behind his actions at the start of the war. He also states his case for the preservation of the Union and forcefully argues against the claim that the states have a right to secession.

"I have received your resolution of the 15th instant, requesting me 'to inform the Senate whether the provisions of the act entitled 'An act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes and to preserve peace on the frontiers, passed the 30th of March, 1802, have been fully complied with on the part of the United States Government, and if they have not that he inform the Senate of...

This particular Fourth Amendment case poses an interesting scenario, as the votes on the decision were not along normal liberal/conservative lines. The case in question involved a warrantless police search of an individual's car in which illegal drugs were discovered. The court...

This case, decided by the United States Supreme Court, dealt with the constitutionality of warrant-less arrests for misdemeanor crimes, in this case, not wearing a seatbelt. Justice David Souter delivered the majority opinion, saying that the Fourth Amendment does not forbid law enforcement officers from making an arrest for a misdemeanor...

"In the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), Congress empowered the President 'to use all necessary and appropriate force against those … he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks … on September 11, 2001.' In Hamdi v. Rumsfeld,...

In this case, the Court upheld a Georgia law prohibiting oral and anal sex taking place in private between consenting homosexual adults. Writing for the majority, Justice Byron White asserted that the case "does not require a judgment on whether laws against sodomy between consenting adults in general, or between homosexuals in particular, are wise or desirable. It...

This Supreme Court case ruled that election campaign contributions are a protected form of free speech, however, the court also said that spending limits on political campaigns are indeed constitutional.

This case is significant because the Supreme Court summed up the modern understanding of the General Welfare clause in its...

In regards to the Fourth Amendment, this Supreme Court case, written by Chief Justice William H. Taft,  established the Carroll Doctrine, otherwise known as the automobile exception. In writing the the majority opinion, Chief Justice Taft argued that that it was permissible for law enforcement officers to execute warrantless searches on automobiles, so long as...

This controversial case overturned Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (494 U.S. 652), the Court stating that stare decisis does not apply because "Austin was a significant departure from ancient first Amendment principles."

At issue was a law that stated, "if a covered transmission during the blackout period creates the...

"Congress's contempt power is the means by which Congress responds to certain acts that in its view obstruct the legislative process. Contempt may be used either to coerce compliance, to punish the contemnor, and/or to remove the obstruction. Although arguably any action that directly obstructs the effort of Congress to exercise its constitutional powers may constitute a contempt, in recent...

"We may summarize our view of constitutional government by saying that its ultimate and essential objects are:

1st. To bring the active and planning will of each part of the government into accord with the prevailing popular thought and need, in order that government may be the impartial instrument of a symmetrical national...

"Arguably no political principle has been more central than the separation of powers to the evolution of constitutional governance in Western democracies. In the definitive work on the subject, M. J. C. Vile traces the history of the doctrine from its rise during the English Civil War, through its development in the eighteenth century - when it was indispensable to...

Cooper v. Aaron held that states are bound to Supreme Court decisions.  This case held that since Marbury established the concept of judicial review and that the Supreme Court is supreme in the interpretation of the Constitution, then the states are also beholden to the decisions of the Supreme Court due to the incorporation of the 14th Amendment, where the 14th Amendment applies to...

Thomas Paine shows the common understanding of the term General Welfare. In Paine's list of rights, the phrase, "General Welfare" is paired with the phrase "Public Needs," implying that the two phrases are conceptually linked. During the time period of the writing of the Constitution, it was understood that General Welfare referred solely to the welfare of the...

This opinion declared that "[a] State's failure to protect an individual against private violence generally does not constitute a violation of the Due Process Clause, because the Clause imposes no duty on the State to provide members of the general public with adequate protective services. The Clause is phrased as a limitation on the State's power to act, not as a guarantee of certain minimal...

In District of Columbia v. Heller, the Court held that the ban on handguns in the District of Columbia was in violation of the Second Amendment.  The majority opinion written by Justice Scalia depends on concepts of originalism to reason that the ban on guns in the District of Columbia was unconstitutional. Both the majority and the dissenting opinion use examples from the era of the...

The plaintiffs in this case argued that a portion of the Patriot Act violated the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments of the United States Constitution. The particular portion of the Patriot Act with which the plaintiffs took issue dealt with the issuance of...

This case, decided in England in 1765, established that any trespass unto another person's property must be justified by law through an official warrant handed down by a justice of the peace. According to this ruling, warrants must be specific in nature, and there must also be reasoning for the warrant. Lord Camden made it clear that if a warrant was issued without...

"The case was thus:

An act of Congress-the Judiciary Act of 1789,1 section 14-enacts that the Circuit Courts of the United States

'Shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus. And that either of the justices of the Supreme Court, as well as judges of the District Court, shall have power to grant writs of habeas corpus for the purpose of an inquiry into the cause of...

This document, written by an anonymous author, outlines his view regarding the separation of powers between the state and national governments. He believes that it is best for the framers of the Constitution to fully enumerate the powers of both the state and federal governments, instead of enumerating one and then being silent on the reserved rights of the other...

In this Federalist Paper, Hamilton argues for the need to restrain the legislature's authority with regard to defense, and that armed citizens are the last line of defense for liberty.

In this paper, which would later be assembled in The Federalist Papers, Madison explains to the Constitutional Opponents that the "General Welfare Clause" does not provide an unrestrained, vast reservoir of power for Congress. He shows that in that case there would be no need for a commerce clause or interstate...

"TO WHAT expedient, then, shall we finally resort, for maintaining in practice the necessary partition of power among the several departments, as laid down in the Constitution? The only answer that can be given is, that as all these exterior provisions are found to be inadequate, the defect must be supplied, by so contriving the interior structure of the government...

"A FIRM Union will be of the utmost moment to the peace and liberty of the States, as a barrier against domestic faction and insurrection. It is impossible to read the history of the petty republics of Greece and Italy without feeling sensations of horror and disgust at the distractions with which they were continually agitated, and at the rapid succession of revolutions by which they were...

From the Social Security Administration's "Background to the Case":

"The fact that workers contribute to the Social Security program's funding through a dedicated payroll tax establishes a unique connection between those tax payments and future benefits. More so than general federal income taxes can be said to...

In this case the officials of the Village of Newburgh's water facilities created an interruption to the water flow of a property owner. Chancellor Kent argued that the owner's right to due process under New York's constitution was applicable in this case and entitled him to "just compensation," given that a taking of private property had occurred: "It is a clear...

The Terrorist Surveillance Program, authorized by President George W. Bush, was severely questioned by many Americans who wondered whether or not it violated their Fourth Amendment rights. In this...

This Supreme Court case deals with how the Commerce Clause gives the federal government the right to criminalize the growing and personal usage of marijuana, even when these actions are in accordance to state law. 

California's Compassionate Use Act allows people to use limited amounts of marijuana for strictly medicinal...

Heart of Atlanta Motel was a motel in Atlanta, Georgia that would not rent rooms to black men and women. When the Civil Rights Act was passed, the owner of the motel sued, arguing that Congress did not have the right to regulate his motel under the interstate commerce clause.

The Supreme Court ruled that not only did Congress...

The petitioner in this case was arrested and indicted based on expired warrant. Due to the clerical error, the petitioner argued that his conviction was based on illegally obtained evidence. The Supreme Court, however, declared that "[w]hen police mistakes leading to an unlawful search are the result of isolated negligence attenuated from the search, rather than...

This Supreme Court case dealt with the common law doctrine of police officers first knocking on the door and announcing their presence before said officers execute a search warrant and enter the home of a citizen. 

In this case, Detroit police officers were issued a warrant to search Booker T. Hudson's residence for drugs...

"I respect too much the right and the duty of the Reps of the people to examine for themselves, the merits of all questions before them, and am too conscious of my own fallibility, to view the most rigid & critical examination of the particular question referred to your Committee, with any other feeling than a solicitude for a result favorable to truth and the public good."

"Where officers detected the odor of burning opium emanating from a hotel room, entered without a search warrant and without knowing who was there, arrested the only occupant, searched the room and found opium and smoking apparatus, the search violated the Fourth Amendment to the Federal Constitution, and a conviction for a violation of the federal narcotic laws...

This case is considered a landmark case in Fourth Amendment jurisprudence as it established the benchmark prerequisite test for warrants. According to Justice Stewart, who wrote the majority opinion for this case, the Fourth Amendment "protects people, not places" and that the rule of thumb for warrants is whether or not there is a "reasonable expectation of...

This case revolved around a warrant-less search in which police encountered illegal marijuana possession. The Kentucky Supreme Court determined that the police department had failed to follow the proper procedures in entering a house without a warrant. Since this decision was released, the case has continued on to the U.S. Supreme Court. A transcript of the oral...

"The petitioner, an American citizen of Japanese descent, was convicted in a federal district court for remaining in San Leandro, California, a 'Military Area,' contrary to Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34 of the Commanding General [p216] of the Western Command, U.S. Army, which directed that, after May 9, 1942, all persons of Japanese ancestry should be excluded...

A recent Supreme Court decision in which the Due Process Clause played a major role was Lawrence v. Texas. This case revolved around the anti-sodomy laws in one of the nation's largest states. The High Court held that "[t]he Texas statute making it a crime for two...

Lochner represents the height of economic freedom protected by substantive due process. The case arose because the owner of a bakery had violated New York state labor law, which stipulated "that no employes shall be required or permitted to work in bakeries more than sixty hours in a week, or ten hours a day." The court acknowledged the liberty of contract...

"Our law is that in the absence of a special relationship, such as exists when a victim is in custody or the police have promised to protect a particular person, law enforcement agencies and personnel have no duty to protect individuals from the criminal acts of others; instead their duty is to preserve the peace and arrest law breakers for the protection of the general public."

A landmark case which helped form the basis for Judicial Review. The case involved the midnight appointments by President Adams to fill various judicial positions throughout the country. William Marbury had been appointed Justice of the Peace for the District of Columbia, but his appointment was never delivered by the new secretary of state, James Madison. Chief Justice John Marshall and the...

"The excitement which grew out of the territorial controversy between the United States and Great Britain having in a great measure subsided, it is hoped that a favorable period is approaching for its final settlement. Both Governments must now be convinced of the dangers with which the question is fraught, and it must be their desire, as it is their interest, that this perpetual cause of...

This Supreme Court case is considered a landmark case on the issue of federalism. The decision held that the authority of the federal government is expressly enumerated in the Constitution, and that the implied powers of the federal government override the reserved rights of the states. According to Chief Justice Marshall, the Necessary and Proper clause implies...

"On the evening of August 11, 1967, local law enforcement officials of Pike County, Kentucky, entered Alan and Margaret McSurely's home and seized a huge quantity of books, papers, and other personal effects. The officials arrested the McSurelys and charged them with violation of Kentucky's anti-sedition statute. Thus began the McSurelys' seventeen-year odyssey...

This decision, written by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, dealt with the question of whether highway sobriety checkpoints violate the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. By a vote of 6-3, the court decided that checkpoints along state highways do not violate the Fourth or Fourteenth Amendments, as the state governments have a strong interest in curbing drunk driving...

"Being suddenly called in the midst of the last session of Congress by a painful dispensation of Divine Providence to the responsible station which I now hold, I contented myself with such communications to the Legislature as the exigency of the moment seemed to require. The country was shrouded in mourning for the loss of its venerable Chief Magistrate and all hearts were penetrated with...

"This is a habeas corpus case originating in the Supreme Court of New York. Relator was indicted in the County Court of Kings County and sent to jail to await trial upon the charge that, as manager of a laundry, he failed to obey the mandatory order of the state industrial commissioner prescribing minimum wages for women employees."

This case effectively marked the end of the Supreme Court's resistance to FDR's New Deal programs and legislation. Allegedly responding to Roosevelt's court packing threat, the Supreme Court ruled that the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (The Wagner Act) was indeed constitutional.

Chief Justice Hughes ruled for an expansive...

"1. As a basis for attacking a discriminatory regulation of prices, under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the party complaining must show that he himself is adversely affected by it.

2. A regulation fixing the price at which storekeepers may buy milk from milk dealers at a higher figure than that allowed dealers in buying from producers, and allowing dealers a...

"I am pleased to be here at the New School. The University's distinction is legendary. Since the early part of the Twentieth Century the School's name has been synonymous with excellence in humanities, public policy, and the liberal arts. In the 1930s, its University in Exile provided refuge for those fleeing from oppression abroad. My own Supreme Court predecessor, Felix Frankfurter, lectured...

In the tenth chapter of James Wilson's magnum opus, Lectures on Law, Wilson elaborates and provides commentary on the process by which the government pursues, arrests, and prosecutes criminals in accordance to Common Law and Constitutional Principles.

The Olmstead case is one of the most infamous Fourth Amendment cases. The incriminating evidence was obtained electronically without a warrant. The Supreme Court decided that a search and seizure did not occur because a physical trespass did not occur. This precedent has since been overruled.

"In short, sir, without going farther into the subject. Which I should not have here touched at all but for the reasons already mentioned, I venture to declare it as my opinion, that, were the power of Congress to be established in the latitude contended for, it would subvert the very foundations, and transmute the very nature of the limited government established...

The reflections of statesman Dr. James Henry, which have proven an excellent resource for historians seeking a first-hand account of the Federal Convention.

This case decision, written by Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, ruled that certain aspects of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act are unconstitutional. Scalia argued that the supporters of the Brady Act misinterpreted the Tenth Amendment and the Necessary and Proper clause of the Constitution, as the Brady Act "violates the principle of State Sovereignty" in...

"Despite our hardships, our union is strong. We do not give up. We do not quit. We do not allow fear or division to break our spirit. In this new decade, it's time the American people get a government that matches their decency; that embodies their strength. And tonight, tonight I'd like to talk about how together we can deliver on that promise."

"A generation ago, Harvard law professor Frank Michelman advanced an influential and provocative vein of scholarship theorizing the content and justiciability of constitutional welfare rights. Michelman's writings, which endure as the most insightful and imaginative work in this area, sought to anchor the Supreme Court's welfare rights jurisprudence in a comprehensive theory of distributive...

With this executive order, Reagan sought to "restore the division of governmental responsibilities between the national government and the States that was intended by the Framers of the Constitution and to ensure that the principles of federalism established by the Framers guide the Executive departments and agencies in the formulation and implementation of...

The Slaughterhouse cases arose "out of the efforts of the butchers of New Orleans to resist the Crescent City Livestock Landing and Slaughter-House Company in the exercise of certain powers conferred by the charter which created it, and which was granted by the legislature of that State." The butchers claimed the monopoly violated "the most important...

"Persons who sell liquor are not relieved from liability for the internal revenue tax imposed by the federal government by the fact that they have no interest in the profits of the business and are simply the agents of a state which, in the exercise of its sovereign power, has taken charge of the business of selling intoxicating liquor. ...

The national government is one of enumerated...

In January 2011, U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson declared that "'The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act' [is] unconstitutional." Judge Vinson's decision was carefully thought out and related to the Constitutional "Commerce Clause." Vinson also made an...

"This is a bill in equity brought by the State of Missouri to prevent a game warden of the United States from attempting to enforce the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of July 3, 1918, c. 128, 40 Stat. 755, and the regulations made by the Secretary of Agriculture in pursuance of the same. The ground of the bill is that the statute is an unconstitutional interference with the rights reserved to the...

US v. Carolene Products signified the abandonment of substantive due process protections for economic rights. Justice Stone argued that the government only had to provide a rational basis for enacting economic regulation. From this, the...

"Suspicion that a person is engaged in violations of the prohibition law, confirmed by the odor of whisky and by peeping through a chink in a garage standing adjacent to his dwelling and part of the same premises, will not justify prohibition officers in breaking into the...

Although Frank Mylar admits to being a supporter of President George W. Bush, he respectfully questions the constitutionality of some of the provisions in the Patriot Act. Mylar is particularly concerned about the Fourth Amendment rights of American citizens and implies that the Patriot Act strikes at the heart of the safeguards established in it.

Noted orator Daniel Webster articulates to the Supreme Court the legal theory behind substantive due process during the hearing of Dartmouth Trustees V. Woodward. First, Webster claims that New Hampshire's legislators do not possess the power to abridge...

Pilon's testimony identifies that: "In a word, the people and the states no longer trust Washington not simply because Washington has been doing a less than satisfactory job but, more deeply, because Washington has assumed a vast array of regulatory and redistributive powers that were never its to assume--not, that is, if we take the Constitution seriously."

"HAVING shown that no one of the powers transferred to the federal government is unnecessary or improper, the next question to be considered is, whether the whole mass of them will be dangerous to the portion of authority left in the several States."

Alexander Hamilton explores the proposed role of the judiciary in the U.S. federal government. The independence of the court and a discussion of judicial review is included, and Hamilton argues that interpretation of laws should be left to the judiciary under the power of judicial review.

"This enumerated power allegedly allows federal regulation of markets because the Preamble to the Constitution reads, in part 'We the people of the United States, in order to ... promote the general welfare ... do ordain and establish this Constitution' and because Article I Section 8 has similar language also in the initial paragraph of that section.

But...

"The great fundamental issue now before the Republican party and before our people can be stated briefly. It is: Are the American people fit to govern themselves, to rule themselves, to control themselves? I believe they are. My opponents do not. I believe in the right of the people to rule. I believe the majority of the plain people of the United States will, day...

"You request me confidentially, to examine the question, whether the Supreme Court has advanced beyond its constitutional limits, and trespassed on those of the State authorities? I do not undertake it, my dear Sir, because I am unable. Age and the wane of mind consequent on it, have disqualified me from investigations so severe, and researches so laborious. And it is the less necessary in...

"At least as applied in this case to a native-born citizen of the United States who did not voluntarily relinquish or abandon his citizenship or become involved in any way with a foreign nation, § 401(g) of the Nationality Act of 1940, as amended, which provides that a citizen 'shall lose his nationality' by

deserting the military or naval forces of the United States in...

The dissent of this case, written by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, argues against the Majority ruling that the States cannot legislate additional prerequisites for their representatives in Congress beyond what is set down in the Constitution.

Justice Thomas argues that because the Constitution is silent on the...

"In Butler, the Court struck down the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which taxed processors in order to pay farmers to reduce production. Although invalidating the statute, the Court adopted the Hamiltonian view (almost in passing) that the General Welfare Clause is a separate grant of congressional authority, linked to and qualified by the spending power...

In this particular case, FBI officials relied on permission from an individual involved in a bribery case rather than a warrant to set up a secret video camera in a hotel room. The case revolved around whether or not this warrantless evidence was...

Chief Justice Rehnquist delivered the majority opinion in this case, ruling that the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 was unconstitutional. This law gave victims of gender-motivated crimes the right to sue for damages in federal court. In this instance, the court ruled that the Commerce Clause and Fourteenth Amendment did not give Congress the authority to enact...

This case involved the contest of a charge of "unlawful transportation and possession of intoxicating liquors in violation of section 3 of title 2 of the National Prohibition Act." A lower court had granted the defendants' claim that the "Eighteenth Amendment by authority of which the [National Prohibition Act] was enacted has not been ratified so as to become part...

This case dealt with the government's ability to use electronic surveillance with a warrant, in the interest of domestic security. The Court had to balance the legitimate government interest of preventing domestic attacks with the privacy concerns of citizens. The Court decided that the searches themselves may be reasonable, but the Fourth Amendment requires an...

"The respective trial judges held that the police were under no specific legal duty to provide protection to the individual appellants ... and dismissed the complaints for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. ... However, in a split decision a three judge division of this court determined that appellants Warren, Taliaferro and Nichol were owed a special duty of care by...

This case resulted in the creation of the "exclusionary rule", meaning that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment is inadmissible in trial. In this case, Marshals entered Mr. Weeks' house and discovered letters incriminating him. They did not have a warrant. The Court claimed that without the exclusionary rule, "the protection of the Fourth...

This Supreme Court case is regarded as the case that threw open the doors of federal government regulation. Whenever the constitutional authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce is brought up, legal scholars and analysts point to this case, which gives Congress the authority to regulate almost anything it wants to regulate.

"The first of a series of lectures on Education under the auspices of the Lecture Bureau of the Department of Education was delivered in Cooper Union last night by President Woodrow Wilson of Princeton University, who chose for his subject 'Americanism.'"

"My objective in writing this book is to increase the general understanding of what the American Supreme Court does. The framers of the American Constitution and history itself have made the Court the ultimate arbiter of the Constitution's meaning as well as the source of answers to a multitude of questions about how a vast, complex country will be governed, and thus it is important that the...

"Constitutional scholarship has deteriorated into a set of armed camps, with defenders of different theories of judicial review too often talking to their own supporters but not engaging their opponents. This book breaks free of the stalemate and reinvigorates the debate over how the judiciary should interpret the Constitution. Keith Whittington reconsiders the implications of the fundamental...

"No contemporary scholar has observed as many federations at first hand or written so prolifically about federalism as Daniel Elazar... Exploring Federalism is the fruit of Elazar's mature experience and reflection and is a dauntingly comprehensive and erudite book." - American Political Science Review

"Sorenson's thesis, based primarily on Federalist No. 41, is that Madison regarded the enumeration as defining the objects entailed within the general welfare and the other general clauses that make up the Preamble (i.e., justice, domestic tranquility, common defense, and liberty). But those objects are the broad ends or purposes of the...

"When the first two volumes of William Crosskey's monumental study of the Constitution appeared in 1953, Arthur M. Schlesinger called it 'perhaps the most fertile commentary on that document since The Federalist papers.' It was highly controversial as well. The work was a comprehensive reassessment of the meaning of the Constitution, based on examination...

"The modern law of search and seizure permits warrantless searches that ruin the citizenry's trust in law enforcement, harms minorities, and embraces an individualistic notion of the rights that it protects, ignoring essential roles that properly-conceived protections of privacy, mobility, and property play in uniting Americans. Many believe the Fourth Amendment is...

This book covers the Anti-Federalist Papers, which contain arguments against ratification of the Constitution, as well as supplying the political context surrounding the development and ratification of the Constitution.

...

"Due to the thousands of daily governmental intrusions such as airport checks, traffic stops, drug testing, obtaining of digital evidence, traditional criminal law enforcement practices and regulatory inspections the Fourth Amendment is the most commonly implicated and litigated part of our Constitution. This treatise comprehensively treats United States Supreme...

"In this thought-provoking polemic, 'an accomplished iconoclast' whose 'knowledge of american history is as persuasive as his wit' (New York Times Book Review) blames america's outmoded constitutional system of checks and balances for the political malaise and governmental gridlock of recent years."

"Through an analysis of American federalism that returns to classic sources, The Meaning of American Federalism explains the conditions necessary for constituting a self-governing (rather than a state-governed) society and describes how such a system works. Included are Tocqueville's Analysis of the American Experiment; Hobbes' Leviathan and the Logic of American...

"The Constitution Society is a private non-profit organization founded in 1994 and dedicated to research and public education on the principles of constitutional republican government. It publishes documentation, engages in litigation, and organizes local citizens groups to work for reform.

This site aims to eventually provide almost everything one needs to accurately decide what is and...

A variety of articles, events, and academic studies on the Constitution from the Cato Institute.

"The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies is a group of conservatives and libertarians interested in the current state of the legal order.  It is founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it is...

"The American justice system suffers from a prevailing judicial philosophy that treats judging as politics by another name; a dangerous trend to 'over-criminalize'—that is, to criminalize conduct that is socially and economically beneficial or is better regulated by the civil justice system or administrative means; and a civil litigation system run amok by frivolous lawsuits and outrageous...