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Constitutional Law

University of Montana

Founding fathers

Publication Year

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The State-Application-And-Convention Method Of Amending The Constitution: The Founding Era Vision, Robert G. Natelson Jan 2011

The State-Application-And-Convention Method Of Amending The Constitution: The Founding Era Vision, Robert G. Natelson

Faculty Law Review Articles

No abstract provided.


Proposing Constitutional Amendments By Convention: Rules For Governing The Process, Robert G. Natelson Jan 2011

Proposing Constitutional Amendments By Convention: Rules For Governing The Process, Robert G. Natelson

Faculty Law Review Articles

Much of the mystery surrounding the Constitution's state-application-and-convention amendment process is unnecessary as history and case law enable us to resolve most questions. This article is the first in legal literature to access the full Founding-Era record on the subject, including the practices of inter-colonial and interstate conventions held during the 1770s and 1780s. Relying on that record, together with post-Founding practices, understandings, and case law, this article clarifies the rules governing applications and convention calls, and the roles of legislatures and conventions in the process. The goal of the article is objective exposition rather tan advocacy or special pleading.


The Founders' Hermeneutic: The Real Original Understanding Of Original Intent, Robert G. Natelson Jan 2007

The Founders' Hermeneutic: The Real Original Understanding Of Original Intent, Robert G. Natelson

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article re-examines the controversial question of whether the American Founders believed their own subjective understandings should guide future interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, or whether they thought the constitutional construction should be guided only by objective public meaning or some other hermeneutic standard.


The Constitutional Contributions Of John Dickinson, Robert G. Natelson Jan 2003

The Constitutional Contributions Of John Dickinson, Robert G. Natelson

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article explores the contributions of John Dickinson to the Constitution and as a member of the Continental Congress. Part II provides a brief biography of John Dickinson through the ratification debates. Part II discusses Dickinson's political philosophy. Part IV examines Dickinson's philosophy in action at the Constitutional Convention.