Monthly Archives: November 2021

FEDERALIST No. 48: These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated as to Have No Constitutional Control Over Each Other.

We are on the eve of a very important election.  Much has been said about the Constitution and what is Constitutional so let’s take a few weeks and look at the foundational letters written by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay arguing for the creation of the US Constitution.  The comment tab is open.  Please share your …

Continue reading “FEDERALIST No. 48: These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated as to Have No Constitutional Control Over Each Other.”

Dirty Business and Politics are Often Bedfellows

We all think of Benjamin Franklin as a grandfatherly type who invented and published things, sort of that eccentric neighbor who was everyone’s friend, but there was a ruthless side to Franklin.  In 1728, a printer named Samuel Keimer founded the Pennsylvania Gazette, the second newspaper ever printed in the colony. It did not do …

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Antifederalist No. 47 — “Balance” of Departments Not Achieved under New Constitution

This essay is made up of excerpts from “Centinel’s,” letters of October 5 and 24, 1787. Taken from The Independent Gazetteer. I am fearful that the principles of government inculcated in Mr. [John] Adams’ treatise [Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America], and enforced in the numerous essays and paragraphs …

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FEDERALIST No. 47: The Particular Structure of the New Government and the Distribution of Power Among Its Different Parts.

We are on the eve of a very important election.  Much has been said about the Constitution and what is Constitutional so let’s take a few weeks and look at the foundational letters written by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay arguing for the creation of the US Constitution.  The comment tab is open.  Please share your …

Continue reading “FEDERALIST No. 47: The Particular Structure of the New Government and the Distribution of Power Among Its Different Parts.”

Historical Tidbits

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. November 16, 1777         Siege Fort Mifflin On September 22, Howe succeeded in achieving an uncontested crossing of the Schuylkill River and four days later occupied Philadelphia.  Having taken the city, …

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Antifederalist No. 46 — Where Then Is the Restraint?

This essay by “An Old Whig” (see AFP #’s Nos. 18-20, 49, 50, and 70) appeared in the Maryland Gazette and Baltimore Advertiser on Nov. 2, 1788. Let us look to the first article of the proposed new constitution, which treats of the legislative powers of Congress; and to the eighth section, which pretends to …

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FEDERALIST No. 46: The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared

We are on the eve of a very important election.  Much has been said about the Constitution and what is Constitutional so let’s take a few weeks and look at the foundational letters written by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay arguing for the creation of the US Constitution.  The comment tab is open.  Please share your …

Continue reading “FEDERALIST No. 46: The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared”