Current developments
Calling Mr. Madison!
The current financial crisis surrounding Greece has the European Union (EU) reliving an American nightmare of the 1780s. Then, the Articles of Confederation bound the thirteen states together with ties…
Read MoreBurr's Boats, Part II
When Aaron Burr left the office of vice president in March 1805, his future was clouded. President Jefferson had dropped him from the Republican ticket the year before, then Burr…
Read MoreNuremburg War Crimes Trials
John Q. Barrett is a law professor at St. John’s in New York and a scholar of Justice Robert Jackson (pictured below). He produces periodic e-mails about Justice Jackson that…
Read MoreTop 10 Government Showdowns
In honor of the debt-ceiling drama playing out here in Washington, Time Magazine has put together a list of Top 10 Government Showdowns in American history. I was initially delighted…
Read MoreBurr v. Hamilton: 207 years ago
The New York Times today commemorated the 207th anniversary of the Burr-Hamilton duel with an account of a journey to Weehawken that I took with the Times reporter, James Barron. …
Read MoreThe Fourth and Thomas Jefferson
What better way to prepare for the Fourth of July, which celebrates Thomas Jefferson’s brilliant Declaration of Independence, than to reflect on the never-ending dispute over whether Jefferson fathered from…
Read MoreThe (Ab)Uses of History
As we enter the presidential campaign season, pity the Founding Fathers. Among the recent incantations of the Founding Fathers by Republican hopefuls, we find: Mitt Romney, with characteristic vagueness, launched…
Read MoreFive Amendments That Would Surprise the Framers
Yesterday, after I delivered a talk on the Constitutional Convention of 1787, a gentleman in the book-signing line asked an interesting question: “Which of the constitutional amendments would be most…
Read MoreBlagojevich and the Founders
It’s open season on the Founders. Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), who is looking at a run for president as an Extreme Right-wing choice, has already revealed that she became a…
Read MoreMessing Around With Your Votes, Part I
Two recent developments illustrate how the democracy we enjoy here in the Citadel of Liberty is both flawed and fragile. First, a movement is gathering force for a back-door change…
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