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Table Annexed To Article: Counting Words In The Federalist, Peter Aschenbrenner Jan 2014

Table Annexed To Article: Counting Words In The Federalist, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Word counts for each of the eighty-five articles published by Publius, the (collective) pseudonym of John Jay, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, are surveyed. The 189,497 words are also broken down by author. The effort is ancillary to a project fixing the semantic values of ‘constitution’, ‘federal’ and ‘republic’ throughout the Early Republic (=1787 through 1857).


Secrecy Broken: Reports Of The Delegates Following The Federal Convention, Peter Aschenbrenner Nov 2013

Secrecy Broken: Reports Of The Delegates Following The Federal Convention, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Despite the measures taken to ensure the secrecy of the proceedings during the federal convention, many delegates made reports to their states and explained the choices underlying various clauses. However, no delegate had access to the official journal of the constitutional convention.


Table Annexed To Article: Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Constitution’ In The Federalist Papers: Semantic Values Surveyed, Peter Aschenbrenner Oct 2013

Table Annexed To Article: Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Constitution’ In The Federalist Papers: Semantic Values Surveyed, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The eighty-five Federal Papers (authors James Madison and Alexander Hamilton; John Jay contributed five) are justifiably famous as elaborations of constitutional structure and text, sans citation to the convention, understandably, since secrecy imposed by Standing Order on May 28th was continued indefinitely (at the pleasure/non-action of Congress) on September 17th. Counts on semantic value/s of ‘constitution’ and ‘constitutional’ are surveyed.


A Detailed Breakdown Of Note-Takers Surveyed From Farrand’S Records Vols. 1 And 2 (1937), Peter Aschenbrenner Oct 2013

A Detailed Breakdown Of Note-Takers Surveyed From Farrand’S Records Vols. 1 And 2 (1937), Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Eleven of the fifty-five delegates that attended the Federal Convention took notes during the proceedings. These notes, along with Jackson’s official journal and available committee drafts, are assembled in Farrand’s Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 at volumes 1 and 2. OCL provides a page-by-page breakdown of the text [of their notes] which appears in the Farrandian presentation.


Table Annexed To Article: Introducing Constitutional Text Units, Peter Aschenbrenner Sep 2013

Table Annexed To Article: Introducing Constitutional Text Units, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The traditional citation format for reference to specific passages in the federal constitution does not account for the order in which text was added, changed or deleted; a new citation format is proposed, called ‘Constitutional Text Units’; Madison’s June, 1789 suggestion for maintaining a coherent presentation is explained and defended.


Table Annexed To Article: Detailed Breakdown Of Note-Takers In Farrand As Extracted From Farrand’S Records Vols. 1 And 2, Peter Aschenbrenner Apr 2013

Table Annexed To Article: Detailed Breakdown Of Note-Takers In Farrand As Extracted From Farrand’S Records Vols. 1 And 2, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Eleven of the fifty-five delegates that attended the Federal Convention took notes during the proceedings. These notes, along with Jackson’s official journal and available committee drafts, are assembled in Farrand’s Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 at volumes 1 and 2. OCL provides a page-by-page breakdown of the text [of their notes] which appears in the Farrandian presentation.


Table Annexed To Article:The Colours Of The Constitution: More On Deep Structure And Logics Anterior, Peter Aschenbrenner Mar 2013

Table Annexed To Article:The Colours Of The Constitution: More On Deep Structure And Logics Anterior, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The colours of the Early Constitution, broken down into Philadelphia and Corrective Constitutions, and further subdividable, reveal our first glimpse of the deep structure of constitutional texts. An introduction to constitutional logic – or at least a presentation of the effects of its deployment in venue – demonstrates the divide between crafting responsibilities and disabilities, a divide taken seriously by text writers.


The Colours Of The Constitution: More On Deep Structure And Logics Anterior, Peter Aschenbrenner Mar 2013

The Colours Of The Constitution: More On Deep Structure And Logics Anterior, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The colours of the Early Constitution, broken down into Philadelphia and Corrective Constitutions, and further subdividable, reveal our first glimpse of the deep structure of constitutional texts. An introduction to constitutional logic – or at least a presentation of the effects of its deployment in venue – demonstrates the divide between crafting responsibilities and disabilities, a divide taken seriously by text writers.


Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Necessary’ In Works Dated To 1787/88, 1790/91 And 1817-36, Peter Aschenbrenner Mar 2013

Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Necessary’ In Works Dated To 1787/88, 1790/91 And 1817-36, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

In this first of three articles, the semantic values of ‘necessary’ are separated into two groups, beginning with The Federalist Papers, with the focus being on the works of Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. In the second tranche of works, their efforts – now as opponents – in the bank bill debate are examined; in the third, given Hamilton’s death in 1804, only Madison’s words are examined. Like ‘constitution,’ ‘necessary’ also offers competing values at the quantum level of analysis. Three different values are discoverable.


Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Exigencies’ In Works Dated To 1787/88, 1790/91 And 1817-36, Peter Aschenbrenner Mar 2013

Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Exigencies’ In Works Dated To 1787/88, 1790/91 And 1817-36, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

In this first of three articles, the reader’s attention is directed to ‘exigencies’ through quotations drawn from the The Federalist Papers (the focus being on the works of Alexander Hamilton and James Madison). This article then explores their semantic contest in the bank bill debate; finally, given Hamilton’s death in 1804, Madison’s works (from 1817-1836) are examined and quotations drawn from that material.


Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Exigencies’ In Works Dated To 1787/88, 1790/91 And 1817-1836 Surveyed By Percent Of Words In Source, Peter Aschenbrenner Mar 2013

Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Exigencies’ In Works Dated To 1787/88, 1790/91 And 1817-1836 Surveyed By Percent Of Words In Source, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

In this third of three articles, frequencies by Madison and Hamilton for ‘exigencies’ are cumulated. Hits surveyed in the three disputed essays are divided equally between Madison and Hamilton. Frequency (by percent) is multiplied by 1000 for ready comparison. The Word vs. the Need contest for primacy at the supra-constitutional level; JM and AH are scored accordingly.


Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Constitution’ In Works Dated To 1787/88, 1790/91 And 1817-1836: Semantic Values Surveyed With Quotations, Peter Aschenbrenner Feb 2013

Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Constitution’ In Works Dated To 1787/88, 1790/91 And 1817-1836: Semantic Values Surveyed With Quotations, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

In this first of three articles, the semantic values of ‘constitution’ and ‘constitutional’ are spread through an eleven way grid, beginning with The Federalist Papers, with the focus being on the works of Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. In the second tranche of works, their efforts – now as opponents – in the bank bill debate are examined; in the third, given Hamilton’s death in 1804, only Madison’s words are examined.


Taney’S Zeno And Scalia’S Mobilia, Peter Aschenbrenner Jan 2013

Taney’S Zeno And Scalia’S Mobilia, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Zeno’s most famous paradox (of motion) is related to us through Aristotle, who presents Zeno’s ‘problems’ in his Physics, 239b11-14. Aristotle “asserts (on Zeno’s behalf) the non-existence of motion on the ground that any object in locomotion must arrive at the half-way stage before it arrives at the goal.”


The Doctrine Of Stare Decisis In United States Supreme Court Opinions, Peter Aschenbrenner Jan 2013

The Doctrine Of Stare Decisis In United States Supreme Court Opinions, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

OCL surveys United States Supreme Court cases from 1791 to 1900 for deployment of the phrase stare decisis in opinions and published arguments before the Court. The people, as Madison conceded, make their own precedents by approving (prior) official action taken by current officials as a foundation for resolving issues-of-the-day.


Table Annexed To Article: “The Idea Of Freedom Might Be Too Great A Temptation For Them To Resist,”, Peter Aschenbrenner Sep 2012

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 Aug 2012

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 Aug 2012

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 Aug 2012

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 Aug 2012

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 Jul 2012

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 Jul 2012

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 Jun 2012

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 Jun 2012

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 Jun 2012

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 Jun 2012

‘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 Jun 2012

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 Jun 2012

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 Jun 2012

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.


Table Annexed To Article: Who's Got Bragging Rights, Peter Aschenbrenner Apr 2012

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 Apr 2012

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.