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Book Review: Broken Landscape: Indians, Indian Tribes, And The Constitution, Raymond Cross

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

The author reviews Frank Pommersheim's book, Broken Landscape: Indians, Indian Tribes, and the Constitution. The author finds the book a deserving read because it recognizes that Indian law, when used thoughtfully and appropriately, can substantially assist the Indian peoples in their self-determination efforts. However, contrary to Pommersheim's suggestions in his introduction that Indian law's role is to ultimately free the Indian peoples from their dependency on the federal government, the author suggests that instead the Indian peoples themselves -- and not lawyers, courts, or legislatures -- must decide when, and if, they will choose to exit their present state …

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

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

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 Legal Meaning Of Commerce In The Commerce Clause, Robert G. Natelson

Faculty Law Review Articles

In this article the author inquires into the meaning of the legal term "commerce" at the the time the Constitution was written, debated, and ratified. The article provides additional support for the conclusion that, for reasons of policy and politics, the founding generation inserted this conceptual and legal boundary into the Constitution and the clear inference from these findings collectively is that the Commerce Clause was designed to give Congress jurisdiction over the law merchant insofar as it pertained to interjurisdictional activities, which was the same jurisdiction that pre-Revolution American pamphleteers had conceded to Parliament.

Part I examines contending definitions …

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.

The Enumerated Powers Of States, Robert G. Natelson

Faculty Law Review Articles

In this article, the author distills the essence of the federalists' enumeration of state powers for the benefit of the ratifying public. The article concludes that the listed items strongly suggest that a guiding principle of American federalism is a Coasean one: externalities and/or interdependence, without more, generally do not serve as constitutional justification for further centralization.

The Articles Of Confederation: Gateway To The Constitution, Arthur R. Landever

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This article gives a brief history of the Articles of Confederation and its influence on the United States Constitution, as well as the similarities and differences between these two documents. The author encourages study of the Articles because they offer insights into the Constitution.