"The Constitution: An Introduction" was published this month by Basic Books. For those joining the conversation mid-stream, this is the third in a series of posts introducing some themes of "The ...

Historical amnesia is as dangerously disorienting for a nation as for an individual. So it is with the current wave of enthusiasm for “states’ rights,” “interposition,” and “nullification”—the claim ...

The repudiated doctrines of interposition and nullification were repudiated once more. Less than a year ago, on July 16, 2009, the Richmond Times-Dispatch ran an editorial apologizing for its role and ...

Today, many lawyers and constitutional scholars would not agree with the doctrines of “interposition” and “nullification” as espoused by Thomas Jefferson and others. Their modern education and ...

Thomas Jefferson explained states’ rights under the Constitution in his Kentucky Resolutions of 1789. These resolutions placed, into the toolbox of states’ rights, two powerful doctrines: ...

Matthew Spalding is the Kirby professor in constitutional government and dean of the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale College and oversees the Allan P. Kirby Jr. Center for ...

WHEN COMPARED to other civilizations, America is still a fledgling nation. But it is old enough to repeat certain behaviors. We often forget just how cyclic we are as a nation, especially in the realm ...

For those joining the conversation mid-stream, this is the third in a series of posts introducing some themes of “The Constitution: An Introduction,” my new book co-authored with my son, Luke Paulsen.