"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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

In the early 19th century, Thomas Jefferson’s doctrines of nullification and interposition were used quite often. Most Americans will shake their heads and say, “Never heard of this,” but a brief look ...

More than 200 years after the Kentucky Resolutions, a version of nullification still lives. Thomas Jefferson doesn’t have much in common with Tim Walz, but in his more radical moments, the Sage of ...

Matthew Spalding is the associate vice president and dean of educational programs for Hillsdale College in Washington, D.C., where he oversees the Allan P. Kirby Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies ...

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 ...

A number of states, including Missouri, Kansas, and Alaska either have passed or are considering state laws intended to invalidate federal statutes, most notably, federal gun laws. Many have modeled ...

The U.S. Supreme Court building. (Jacquelyn Martin, The Associated Press) Almost every semester in one of my courses at LSU, I discuss Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. There's a ...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry talks about seceding from the Union, and he is echoed by Sarah Palin – to the cheers of adoring crowds. Texas gubernatorial candidate Deborah Medina, going even further than even ...