Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

We admit it.   We are big fans of federalism.   Regular listeners will understand that Constitution grants certain rights to the federal government and courtesy of the 10th amendment, remaining powers are reserved for the states.   Does this mean federalism is a function of recognition of states' rights?   Our special guest argues this characterization is better suited if we view federalism as a f...

As Americans, do we sometimes have a tendency to take freedom for granted?   When it's something most of us have lived with our entire lives, the answer is assuredly yes.   That's to be expected as we can't fully comprehend what it is to live without. But ask anyone born under a dictator or totalitarian regime and they quickly remind of us of the blessings of liberty, since they once lived without...

The 16th Amendment gives power to congress to "lay and collect taxes."   After all, a country has to have an ability to raise revenue. When it comes to that revenue, we have had a tradition of paying taxes on income, not the value of an investment, like paying taxes when we sell a few shares of stock in a company and not on the growth of that stock every year we own it.   Those are called realized...

The Constitution dictates every 10 years we undergo a Census to count how many people live in each state.   Based off these population numbers, congressional seats are then apportioned.   States who lost population might lose a seat and states who grew may gain a seat or two since we can only have 435 total seats in the U.S. House.   This brings up an obvious question: who gets to redraw congressi...

City Councils all across the country have been tackling an issue that has bipartisan concern: how to tackle homeless populations within their cities.   Grants Pass, OR., is one such city.   Grants Pass is in the middle of the Supreme Court case Johnson v. Grants Pass that is challenging that city's ability to levy civil and criminal punishments to deter homeless encampments.   A Supreme Court deci...

Trial by jury and fair court proceedings bound by constitutional restraint are bedrock principles of our federal government.   Imagine being charged with a crime by a federal agency except the agency handles the entire court proceedings with a judge on its payroll.   The Securities and Exchange Commission was created by a 1934 act in response to the Great Depression and Stock Market Crash of 1929....

In February of this year, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Ohio v. EPA.   This case challenges the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to enforce the Good Neighbor Plan which aims to curb pollution carried by the wind into neighboring states. As usual, legal proceedings can easily become confusing as a lawsuit makes its way to the Supreme Court.   Fortunately, we are welcoming back Steve...

Federally, we have 536 elected positions between Congress and the President.   We then have 2.8 million federal employees.   How do we limit the power among the unelected officials we have in our federal government?   To tackle this very important question, the Supreme Court introduced the Chevron Doctrine (also called the Chevron Deference) as a result of the 1984 Supreme Court case Chevron USA v...

Presidential immunity is in the news a lot lately.   It derives from a notion that all three branches of government retain powers to execute their duties under the constitution.   But there is also a tradition in our country that no one is above the law.   In a nation that follows established law, not following those laws can lead to anarchy or distrust in the government.   We have a lot to unpack...

Did you know the United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear four cases pertaining to social media this term?   One of the major issues is whether or not an elected official has the authority to limit speech on social media accounts by blocking critical comments pertaining to their work in office.   We know government cannot prohibit your speech, but are elected officials required to permit all...

Who is the Speaker of the House and what are his duties?   How does a bill become law?   What are the three branches of government.   Let's be honest, so many in our country are not fully educated on civics.     If we don't understand how Congress works, we get frustrated with the whole process.   This leads to an overall sentiment that Congress is broken.   Our guest today likes to say "without p...

Winning a war was just the beginning for George Washington's service to our new country.   After retiring to Mount Vernon post-war, Washington saw a weakness in our country under the Articles of Confederation.   He felt the future of republican democratic self-government globally was dependent on the American experiment.   If it were to fail in that perfect post-war moment, man was probably not de...

The relationship between the federal and state governments is not always clear.   These two governments exist simultaneously but at times have different goals and objectives.   The federal government can use its purse strings to coerce a state government to take an action and that state can simply refuse.   The Founders wanted states to solve major issues that were not under the federal purview to...

Can you name the President?   We hope yes!   Can you name your state's governor?   More than likely yes.   But can you name your mayor and city council members?   While the issues nationally get the most attention, your local government's actions impact your day-to-day life more.   Issues like your water supply, trash pickup, sewage, and police and fire departments are all controlled by local enti...

Regular listeners will certainly recognize this famous phrase from the Declaration of Independence: "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."   As the governed who give consent to the government, we have several mechanisms through which we can give that consent and voice approval or disapproval with an elected...

At Constituting America, we love to talk about federalism.   Federalism is a founding principle that government authority is best when one central government does not have all authority, but it is divvied up between local, state and national government.   Have you ever thought about why we have this system and what its virtues are?   In a large country with varied geographical interests, why does...

We have a military.   We have a militia.   When it comes to protecting our citizens, both play a role.   The same militia mentioned in the second amendment is actually defined in 10 U.S. Code § 246 as able-bodied men over 17 and under 45 years old, who are or intend to become US citizens and female citizens who are members of the National Guard.   What precisely are the differences in roles of the...

One of the biggest events in the news lately has been the situation at our southern border and illegal immigration.   Texas, due to its lengthy border with Mexico, is front and center in this discussion that involves the role both state and federal governments play in immigration.   While the U.S. Constitution says Congress has the authority to write immigration-related laws and the executive bran...

Since World War II, the United States, as the world's lone superpower, has promoted democracy around the world with a focus on the longevity of the nation-state.   After all, a nation-state that is whole and free, holds free and frequent elections and is representative of its people will tend to have greater stability, less war, more prosperity and greater trade opportunities.   But as our guest d...

Think about the environment under which our Constitution was drafted.   Our new nation had just waged and won a war for independence and was surrounded on all sides with hostility: the British in the north and their navy out to sea, the Spanish empire to the south, British and French ships patrolling the Caribbean and sometimes hostile Native American tribes to the west.   Our Founders knew war wa...

In 1948, the United States under President Truman became the first country to recognize the existence of Israel.   Since then, the two nations have been staunch allies.   This alliance is certainly being put to the test with the latest round of fighting between the state of Israel and Hamas, the Islamic group which controls Gaza. What is the legal process for the US to provide aid to Israel?   Wha...

Seemingly, the United States has been engaged in some armed conflict somewhere in the world for most of our lives.   However, the United States has not had a formal declaration of war since World War II.   How exactly does that happen?   From what authority does the Congress and President engage in war or armed conflict?   What is a Congressional Authorization for Use of Military Force and what ar...

We are wrapping up our series on the Bill of Rights with this special episode on the 10th Amendment.   In just 28 words, it grants tremendous powers not to the federal government but to the states.   How so?   Regular viewers of our chats know Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution grants 17 specific powers to Congress.   That's it.   The 10th Amendment says any powers not granted by the Constit...

The Ninth Amendment might seem a bit confusing at first glance.   To understand its massive significance requires some insight into what the Founders were thinking.   Think of the Bill of Rights not as granting rights to the people but rather restricting what the government can and cant do in the lives of its citizens.   To wit, it would be impractical to list every right a citizen has and as such...

Once again, the Founders showed their preference for brevity with the 8th Amendment.  It is actually the shortest of all the amendments but packs a wallop in just 16 words!  In this week's chat, we are discussing the elements of the 8th Amendment: protections against excessive bails and fines and protections against cruel and unusual punishments.  We answer what is a cruel and unusual punishment,...