Meaning of Words in the Constitution
Words and Phrases in the ConstitutionThat certain words may have developed different meanings over time is inadmissible as an argument for construing the Constitution. For...
Statements From the Founders
Statements and Quotations: InconclusiveThe rule of legal construction that WE THE PEOPLE employed in the late 1700s (and must, absent amendment of the Constitution,...
Bill of Rights
"Further Declaratory and Restrictive Clauses"The preamble to the Resolution which presented for ratification what became the Bill of Rights stated that, “in order to prevent...
Contemporary Dictionaries
DictionariesThe “technical” meaning of a word or phrase is the particular meaning the law attaches to it, which almost always will be narrower and...
Preamble
Preamble to the ConstitutionThe Preamble sets out the mandatory and unconditional purposes of the Constitution. In so doing, it establishes an overarching rule of...
Misconstrued Role of the Supreme Court
Decisions of Courts Have No Rank as "Law"“n the ordinary use of language it will hardly be contended that the decisions of Courts constitute...
“Living” Constitution
As a constitutional rule of construction that cannot be repeated to often, “If *** we are at liberty to give old words new meanings ***...
“Judicial Supremacy” Through “Judicial Review”
"Judicial Supremacy": Nowhere to be found in the Constitution or Pre-constitutional HistoryPre-constitutional history provides no support for the sweeping contemporary claim that “the federal...
The Word “Actual” in the Constitution
The Word "Actual" in the ConstitutionAs a matter of law, the adjective “actual” was not written into the Constitution in modification of “Service” in...
“Power of the Sword”
"THE POWER OF THE SWORD" RESTS WITH WE THE PEOPLE—ORGANIZED, ARMED AND TRAINED PURSUANT TO STATUTE AS MILITIA—STATE GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS EXERCISING CONSTITUTIONAL LEGAL AUTHORITY.
Power...
Related Topics
“Gun Control”
"Gun Control"In the pre-constitutional period, had the term been current, “gun control” would have meant, not keeping firearms and ammunition away from as many...
“Living” Constitution
As a constitutional rule of construction that cannot be repeated to often, “If *** we are at liberty to give old words new meanings ***...
“Factions” or “Special Interest” Groups
"Factions" or "Special Interest" GroupsAmerica’s Founding Fathers denounced “factions” (what we refer to today as “special interests”) because these groups consist of “a number of citizens,...
“The War on Terror”
"The War on Terror" Rogue officials stir up the "fear" of "terrorism". With "terrorism" as their excuse they arrogate new "war powers" to themselves....
“Usurpation” and “Tyranny”
"Usurpation"“Usurpation” – the exercise of some otherwise legitimate governmental power as to which the particular actor actor enjoys no legal claim.Source: John Locke, Two Treatises of Government,...