“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.”
For many leading founders – from Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Adams – one amendment was not only the “foundation of the constitution,” but also “the Palladium of the private, and personal rights of the Citizens.” Path to Liberty, Fast Friday Edition: October...
Today in 1789, North Carolina ratified the Constitution, becoming the 12th state to do so. Prior to this, the state had held a first convention in Hillsborough that decided not to ratify, but left open the possibility of doing so in the future. Prior to North...
Many anti-federalists warned us about the dangers of centralized power. And George Mason was one of the most prominent, warning that a consolidated government “is totally subversive of every principle which has hitherto governed us,” and that it “is one of the worst...
May 23, 1788 – South Carolina became the 8th state to ratify the Constitution, easily doing so after just a few short days of debate. But was the federalist victory representative of the people, or were the antifederalists just outmaneuvered? Path to Liberty:...
Today in 1865, the legislature of Delaware refused to ratify the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution – which intended to end slavery and indentured servitude in all the states. Some politicians within the state, namely James Bayard and his supporters,...