New Article: James Madison, Federal Overreaching, and Amendments Conventions

The writings of James Madison still offer useful guidance for states seeking to restrain federal overreaching.

Akron Law Review has just published my short article discussing the evolution of Madison’s thought on the subject—from Federalist No. 46, through the Virginia Resolution of 1798 and subsequent writings, to his final recommendation that states unhappy with federal actions apply for a convention for proposing amendments under the Constitution’s Article V.

Madison’s correspondence during 1788 and 1789 sometimes is cited as proving he was opposed to such conventions. My article examines the correspondence, and shows how it is being misunderstood.

The article is called James Madison and the Constitution’s “Convention for Proposing Amendments.” You can read it by clicking here.

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Rob Natelson

In private life, Rob Natelson is a long-time conservative/free market activist, but professionally he is a constitutional scholar whose meticulous studies of the Constitution's original meaning have been repeatedly cited in U.S. Supreme Court opinions and published or cited by many top law journals (See: https://i2i.org/author/rob/) He co-authored The Origins of the Necessary and Proper Clause (Cambridge University Press) and The Original Constitution (Tenth Amendment Center). He was a law professor for 25 years and taught constitutional law and related courses. He is the Senior Fellow in Constitutional Jurisprudence at Colorado's Independence Institute.

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