Author: Rob Natelson

After Independence, some Americans proposed breaking with Anglo-American jurisprudence. In general, however, Americans continued to apply it. There were several reasons The post The ideas that formed the Constitution: Coke,…

There were four reasons why Vattel was so congenial to the American Founders The post The ideas that formed the Constitution: Vattel and the Law of Nations first appeared on…

Writers on the Constitution seldom mention the name of Jean-Louis DeLolme. This is unfortunate, because DeLolme’s book on the English political system significantly influenced those who participated in the constitutional…

Participants in the constitutional debates of 1787–1790 quoted and relied on Montesquieu more than any other political commentator. The sheer volume of references requires me to limit this discussion to…

Participants in the 1787–1790 debates over the framing and ratification of the Constitution frequently drew analogies between scientific law and political and constitutional systems. Illustrative are some observations by John…

John Locke (1632–1704) was one of the greatest figures in English scholarship. His influence on the American Founding was enormous. Some have referred to him as a “Founding Grandfather.” The…

The period produced some opinion-makers who wanted England to be a republic (or “commonwealth”) permanently. Historian Caroline Robbins famously called them the “Commonwealth Men.” Among those she placed in that…

educated members of the founding generation knew that Machiavelli wrote much more than “The Prince,” a book the Founders cited very little. They were far more interested in Machiavelli’s other…

When Founding-era schoolboys tackled Latin, they didn’t begin with Tacitus. His writings were advanced material. However, Tacitus was a favorite among some of the more scholarly American Founders—among them John…

Plutarch contributed to the constitutional discussion in more substantive ways as well. His writings, together with those of Polybius, were principal sources for information on the strengths, weaknesses, and history…

During the Founding era, it was common to read portions of Livy’s history in grammar school. Patrick Henry, who was educated in the classics by his father, read at least…

Virgil provided the founding generation with ways to communicate with greater impact. The post The ideas that formed the Constitution: Virgil alone first appeared on Tenth Amendment Center.

Virgil’s poetry was an immediate hit with the Roman public, and has remained a hit for over two millennia. His “heroic meter”—six feet per line with two or three syllables…

Both sides of the ratification debate over the proposed Constitution resorted to Cicero’s writings and reputation. The post The ideas that formed the Constitution: Cicero Continued first appeared on Tenth…

Marcus Tullius Cicero is a pivotal figure in the Western tradition. His writings were at the heart of Founding-era education. His precepts, whether derived directly from his compositions or from…

Although the surviving convention records don’t mention Polybius explicitly, his influence can be traced from convention discussions about the Greek confederacies. Among the delegates referring to those confederacies were, besides…

The constitutional basis for most federal regulations is the Constitution’s Interstate Commerce Clause. A new historical study shows, however, that the Interstate Commerce Clause is nowhere near as broad as…

For a closer look at Aristotle’s influence, let’s focus on three Founders who had attended college: John Adams, who attended at Harvard; John Francis Mercer, who studied at the College…

In truth, the influence of these three pioneers was greater than the number of references suggests, because participants commonly relied on the works of later writers, such as Polybius and…

The first three personalities in our list of political influences on the Constitution were all Athenians: Socrates, Xenophon, and Plato. The post The ideas that formed the Constitution, the pioneers:…

The Greco-Roman classics remained constantly in the minds of those who drafted and ratified the Constitution. The post The ideas that formed the Constitution: The Founders’ education first appeared on…

Schoolbook focus on the framers sometimes leads us to forget that although the Constitution had only 55 drafters, the convention delegates that adopted it as “the supreme Law of the…