Article IV

Was the U.S. Acquisition of Hawaii Unconstitutional?

by Michael D. Ramsey | Aug 13, 2021 | Article IV, History

I think so. The U.S. annexed Hawaii pursuant to a joint resolution of Congress in 1898. It was not done by treaty (a treaty of annexation had been signed in 1893, but newly elected President Grover Cleveland withdrew the treaty from the Senate). It was not done as...

Congress has no authority to confer statehood on the District of Columbia

by Publius Huldah | Jun 29, 2020 | Article IV, Current Events

Under Article IV, Sec. 3, US Constitution, Congress has the power to admit new States into the Union. For a list of States and when admitted, see this wiki list. Note that the new States were “colonies” or “territories” – or as with Vermont and Texas, “independent...

Can Trump unilaterally call up the militia?

by Brion McClanahan | Jun 5, 2020 | Article IV, Audio/Video, Current Events, Executive, Other Voices

My email box has been on fire in the last few days. Everyone is concerned about the current political climate in America. We are on the verge of a third American revolution, and this one won’t have the same magnanimity of the first, but it will finish the intent...

Does the President Have Power to Combat “Domestic Violence”?

by Michael D. Ramsey | Jun 3, 2020 | Article IV, Executive

A number of commentators have recently argued that the President should (or at least can) use the U.S. military to suppress the ongoing riots and disorder in major cities. (For example, Andrew McCarthy at NRO: The President Has the Constitutional Power to Restore...

The 10th Amendment

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

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