History Commons^™

The Reactionary Road To Free Love: How Doma, State Marriage Amendments And Social Conservatives Undermine Traditional Marriage, Scott Titshaw

Scott Titshaw

Much has been written about the possible effects on different-sex marriage of legally recognizing same-sex marriage. This article looks at the defense of marriage from a different angle: It shows how rejecting same-sex marriage results in political compromise and the proliferation of “marriage light” alternatives (e.g., civil unions, domestic partnerships, or reciprocal beneficiaries) that undermine the unique status of marriage for everyone. In the process, it examines several aspects of the marriage debate in detail. After describing the flexibility of marriage as it has evolved over time, the article focuses on recent state constitutional amendments attempting to stop further development. …

Table Annexed To Article: “The Idea Of Freedom Might Be Too Great A Temptation For Them To Resist,”, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

In Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857), the Supreme Court passed up a chance to thread George Washington’s experience in transporting household staff across state lines; Washington obeyed Pennsylvania’s predicate: that a human being held to slavery in one state became free after six months in Pennsylvania. Since the features of this species of mobilia varied with the jurisdiction, the Supreme Court should have taken this landscape into account. George Washington did not import, with his household workers, ‘rules and understandings’ from Virginia.

The Parable Of The Generous Pasha (And The Presumption Of Rejection), Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

How can assemblies, that is, gatherings in venue, take action? Whether writing rules or taking decisions, assemblies oblige themselves to follow procedures; those assembled must prove that three presumptions of rejection have been overcome. A Pasha learns this lesson when he offers a gift to his people: Process matters. The Grand Vizier survives the lesson, proving that a sense of humor also matters.

Table Annexed To Article: Mr. Taney’S ‘Capital Gap’: Charting The Growth Of The Federal Colony System, 1789-1960, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

When Chief Justice Roger Taney conceded the existence of ‘colonies … established and maintained’ by the federal government, albeit denying ‘power given’ in the Constitution, he had the corpus of American history to contend with. The ‘capital gap,’ as OCL defines it, supplies several measures: the balance of power between regions, the remaining inventory of nascent (ready to be made) states (=territories), the remaining inventory of available territories in gross or subdividable, and for the latter two, the net of these inventories on a regional basis. Taney’s opinion, in this fourth in a series, rises or falls on the historical …

Chart Annexed To Article: The War Between The Stats: An Introduction To Taney’S Regrets, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The decade of the 1850’s, leading up to Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857), saw Americans debate the ‘war between the stats.’ OCL presents the third in its series of articles analyzing the mathematical logic of new state-making. Taney’s focus on the war between the stats explains Dred Scott, OCL suggests, as much as his inveterate racism, and, therefore, grounds any scholarly explanation of the coming war between the states.

Chart Annexed To Article: Crafting The Northwest Ordinance: Tracking The Paths Of Four Delegates, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Tracking Paths of Four Men Who were Delegates and attendees at both the 1787 Federal Convention and the 1787 Session of the Continental / Confederation Congress, when combined with internal quorum requirements of the Congress, yields significant information about the adoption of the Northwest Ordinance. First in a series.

Table Annexed To Article: Mr. Madison Speaks Out: Re-Creation Text Sourced From The Farrand Survey And Detached Memoranda, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The text of James Madison�s Letters from Farrand�s Volume III are analyzed along with Madison�s �Detached Memoranda,� his constitutional testament.

Table Annexed To Article: Madison’S Top Twenty Words In Farrand And The Detached Memoranda,, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Abstract. Madison’s entries in Farrand after 1817, his Detached Memoranda, and his essays in The Federalist Papers are analyzed for word frequencies.

The Logic Of Aspirations: Dual Office Holding / Status Acquisition Issues, Continued, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Constitutional and customary prohibitions on (a) dual office holding in government or (b) acquisition of status – along with other requirements, typically with conditions – are commonplace. Those seeking to acquire an office or enjoy a status are obliged to conform their aspirations to these rules, the logic of which is explored.

Workshop Text For Powerpoint: Unanimous Decisions Of The Supreme Court, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

How can we explain so many unanimous decisions if justices of the United States Supreme Court are appointed by Presidents with different philosophies? Far more unanimous decisions occured in the interval 2000-2010 that would result from random decision-making.

Bentham Mocks The Declarations: ‘Every Law … Is Void', Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Jeremy Bentham famously savaged American declarations of rights, beginning with the Declaration of Independence. What irked him? If individuals had rights that government was bound to honor, then philosophy was obligated to address the conflict between the two. Settle it? Too ambitious. Ignore it? Too lazy. The consequences of Bentham’s unwillingness to survey American constitutions and legislation (using his own tools) are surveyed.

‘Which’ And Its Lexical And Semantic Relations In The Early Constitution, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The Early Constitution deploys, in dramatically different fashion, ‘which,’ ‘who,’ ‘whose,’ ‘what,’ ‘whatsoever,’ ‘whatever,’ ‘when’ and ‘whenever.’ Some but not all of these signal and connect/organize subordinate clauses. Results are surveyed and tabled.

What Happened On July 6, 1787 And Why It Matters, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The first Standing Order of the Philadelphia convention provided for per stirpes voting, that is, voting by state, but set the quorum requirement at seven and the action requirement at four, that is, an arithmetic majority/majority. Divided states (delegates equal in number on each side of a question) were counted towards the quorum requirement. The significance of a disputed vote on July 6 is explained.

Table Annexed To Article: ‘Which’ And Its Lexical And Semantic Relations In The Early Constitution, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The Early Constitution deploys, in dramatically different fashion, ‘which,’ ‘who,’ ‘whose,’ ‘what,’ ‘whatsoever,’ ‘whatever,’ ‘when’ and ‘whenever.’ Some but not all of these signal and connect/organize subordinate clauses. Results are surveyed and tabled.

Table Annexed To Article: Hamilton And Madison’S Semantic Armageddon In Machine-Readable Text, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Abstract: In four writings (December and February, 1791) Hamilton and Madison disputed the constitutionality of the proposed (First) Bank of the United States. All four appear in machine-readable text (with article to follow); the reader can search on ‘constitution-‘ and evaluate for herself how the writers guide constitution = text, constitution = government or leave the choice to the reader.

The Effects Of Mass Consumption On American Society, Jon Foster

Jon Foster

For a generation that doesn’t relate to the ‘eighties’, fondly remembers the ‘nineties’, and came of age in the two thousands, we often think of the sixties with a bit of nostalgia; reminiscing about Woodstock, and hippies, the nuclear family or maybe the Beatles. Unfortunately, much of this understanding is isolated within a bubble; wherein the sincere socioeconomic issues of the time, often become detached from their idealistic counterpart. To clarify, the causal relations that gave rise to what my generation remembers and typifies as the ‘sixties’, becomes distorted within the context of the rapidly changing times.

Analysis: Williams V Scott, Jon Foster

Jon Foster

In the case of Williams v Scott, the Court has been asked to determine the constitutionality of Senate Bill 2100 in relation to the rights of public sector employees to collectively bargain.

Table Annexed To Article: Who's Got Bragging Rights, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The order in which the original thirteen states ratified the Federal Constitution can be compared with the order in which the twelve states credentialed their delegations to the federal convention. A surprise winner is announced.

Table Annexed To Article: Ages Of The Delegates At The Federal Convention, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Of the fifty-five delegates who attended the federal convention at Philadelphia in 1787, the median in age was Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut, thirty-two years old. The delegate with the median remaining life span was Jacob Broom of Delaware (thirty-three years). The early arrivers were neither older nor younger than the others. Nor were they marked down for a shorter or longer remaining lifespan.

Who's Got Bragging Rights: Delaware Or New Hampshire Or -- ?, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The order in which the original thirteen states ratified the Federal Constitution can be compared with the order in which the twelve states credentialed their delegations to the federal convention. A surprise winner is announced.

Chart Annexed To Article: Delegate Arrivals In Philadelphia Compared To Voting Records, Peter Aschenbrenner, David Kimball

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Fifty-five delegates were appointed by twelve states to attend the federal convention in May, 1787. Eleven states ratified the Constitution between December 7, 1787 and July 26, 1788. When delegate arrival dates are compared with the order in which their respective state ratification conventions completed their business, a significant number of delegates supporting the constitution are missing in action.

Table Annexed To Article: Dual Office Holding And Status Acquisition Requirements/Prohibitions In The Federal Constitution, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The federal constitution addresses a number of situations in which an aspirant to office or status must abide by requirements/prohibitions regarding dual office holding and status acquisition. The pertinent provisions are reviewed and logical aspects of this issue are introduced.

'Fast And Fourteen': Delegates Who Left The Federal Convention Early, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Of the fifty-five delegates who attended the federal convention at Philadelphia in 1787, fourteen left before the constitution concluded its business on September 17, 1787. Their voting records disclose that, just like those early arrivers who supported the Constitution, early leavers who opposed the Constitution were overwhelmed by the number of supporters who departed.

Dispelling The Fog About Direct Taxation, James Campbell

James Campbell

A full interpretation of capitation taxes in their historical context is here used as the key to a fresh understanding of the nature and practice of apportioned direct taxation under the Constitution. Contrary to common misconceptions, it appears that none of the key elements of the Federal powers of direct taxation – capitations, other direct taxes, and apportionment – are of uncertain meaning, or no longer of any relevance because of the abolition of slavery. Evidence for these conclusions is drawn from historical studies of taxation, records of the Constitutional Convention, Federal and state tax statutes of the period, contemporaneous …

Reducing The Drug War's Damage To Government Budgets, David B. Kopel, Trevor Burrus

David B Kopel

This Article examines ways that governments can mitigate the economic damage caused by the drug war. Part I details four specific legal reforms enacted in Colorado, which aim to reduce the problems of over-criminalization: Requiring a fiscal note for the creation of new statutory crimes; reducing drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor; narrowing the scope of 'three strikes' laws, and; adjusting old sentences in light of new laws.

Part II explores the fiscal benefits of ending prohibition, such as reduced law enforcement costs and substantially increased tax revenues.

Part III analyzes the conflict between congressionally-imposed prohibition, and state …

How The British Gun Control Program Precipitated The American Revolution, David B. Kopel

David B Kopel

Abstract: This Article chronologically reviews the British gun control which precipitated the American Revolution: the 1774 import ban on firearms and gun powder; the 1774-75 confiscations of firearms and gun powder, from individuals and from local governments; and the use of violence to effectuate the confiscations. It was these events which changed a situation of rising political tension into a shooting war. Each of these British abuses provides insights into the scope of the modern Second Amendment.

From the events of 1774-75, we can discern that import restrictions or bans on firearms or ammunition are constitutionally suspect — at least …