Author Archives: Michael Carver

How to Cheat at 18th Century Whist

Whist was a very most popular card games in Georgian England, played by the gentry in all the best coffee houses in London.  It features prominently in the novels by Jane Austen and is considered fashionable in high society as a challenging strategic card game requiring good memory, sympathetic partnering and psychological acumen. The rules …

Continue reading “How to Cheat at 18th Century Whist”

Antifederalist No. 51 — Do Checks and Balances Really Secure the Rights of the People?

This satire is from a pamphlet of “Aristocrotis,” The Government of Nature Delineated; Or An Exact Picture of the New Federal Constitution (Carlisle, PA, 1788). The present is an active period. Europe is in a ferment breaking their constitutions; America is in a similar state, making a constitution. For this valuable purpose a convention was …

Continue reading “Antifederalist No. 51 — Do Checks and Balances Really Secure the Rights of the People?”

FEDERALIST No. 51: The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments.

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. 51: The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments.”

Well, I must admit that I am conflicted on this particular subject. A local PA Legislator is introducing a bill reinstituting cursive writing in our schools. YES, I am a great believer in maintaining core skills and I laugh every time I meet someone who cannot decipher cursive text. The question, however, is does this …

Continue reading “”

Antifederalist No. 50 — On Constitutional Conventions. (Part 2)

Antifederalists sought a second constitutional convention immediately after conclusion of the first. This essay by “An Old Whig,” is from either The Freeman’s Journal or The North-American Intelligencer, of November 28, 1787. It is true that the Continental Convention have directed their proposed constitution to be laid before a Convention of Delegates to be chosen …

Continue reading “Antifederalist No. 50 — On Constitutional Conventions. (Part 2)”

FEDERALIST No. 50: Periodical Appeals to the People Considered

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. 50: Periodical Appeals to the People Considered”

How to Survey Land with 18th Century Tools – The Tools

Land surveys consist of six basic tasks: Determinizing your position on Earth using celestial navigation methodsMeasuring distances with a Gunter’s Chain.Measuring changes in elevation with a Range PoleMeasurement of directions and angles using a Compass.Drawing the map on a Plane Table, andComputing areas with basic plane geometry In this series we will discuss the fundamentals …

Continue reading “How to Survey Land with 18th Century Tools – The Tools”

Antifederalist No. 49 — On Constitutional Conventions. (Part 1)

The following essay is in two parts: the first is by “Massachusettensis,” and is reprinted from The Massachusetts Gazette of January 29, 1788; the second part was written by “An Old Whig,” and is taken from The New-York Journal of November 27, 1787. That the new constitution cannot make a union of states, but only …

Continue reading “Antifederalist No. 49 — On Constitutional Conventions. (Part 1)”