The Federalist Blog

Recent Posts from The Federalist Blog

• Misunderstanding the Fourteenth Amendment and the Incorporation Debacle

  Highlights: Rep. Bingham showed no intention of making the entire first eight amendments applicable between a State and its own citizens. Article four, section two and due process was the “bill of rights” Bingham spoke…

• Feds think they have Eminent Domain Powers within States

  The AP reports that the federal government will begin taking land from seven property owners so that a Flight 93 memorial can be built in time for the 10th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.…

• Gay Marriage: Iowa Supreme Court Wrong on the Law

  Updated 4/10/09 Reading through the unanimous, 69-page decision of the Iowa Supreme Court striking down the state’s 10-year-old ban on same-sex marriage, reads more as an advocacy for same-sex marriage than constitutional fact finding. While…

• Was the Second Amendment Borrowed from the Massachusetts Constitution?

  The similarities between the right to bear arms under the United States Second Amendment and Article XVII of the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 are nearly identical. Both speak of a right of the people “to…

• Historical Meaning Behind 'Equal Protection of the Laws'

  The phrase “Equal Protection of the Laws” is another way of saying “equal justice” or, “under the protection of law,” which was a popular expression during colonial times to show different religious sects and denominations…

• Defining Natural-Born Citizen

  “The common law of England is not the common law of these States.” —George Mason Updated 7/28/09 What might the phrase “natural-born citizen” of the United States imply under the U.S. Constitution? The phrase has…

• Georgia vs. U.S. Department of Injustice

  Voting rights groups in Georgia were successful in stopping State election officials from using Social Security numbers and driver’s license data to check voters’ immigration status. Advocacy groups had told a federal three-judge panel that…

• Original Meaning: Freedom of Speech and of the Press

  Before discussing the meaning of the words “freedom of speech, or of the press” as established under early American law, we should first understand why these words are found under the United States Constitution. Mr.…

• Q: Did Marshall and Bingham share the same constitutional philosophy?

  A reader would like to know what ideological differences there might had been between two influential individuals of constitutional law: Chief Justice John Marshall and John A. Bingham. Answer: While John Bingham spoke cordially of…

• D.C. v. Heller: Was Scalia Honest with the Facts?

  “[T]here is no need to deceive ourselves as to what the original Second Amendment said and meant. Of course, properly understood, it is no limitation upon arms control by the states.” —Antoin Scalia, A Matter…