The Complete Anti-Federalist

The Dead Hand of the Past? Toward an Understanding of “Constitutional Veneration”

“…The reason of the difference is obvious-it is the effect of education, a series of notions impressed upon the minds of the people by examples, precepts and declarations. (Federal Farmer, 1787, in Storing 1981 In other words, attachment to a written constitution becomes attachment to the principles and values enshrined in that constitution, and those constitutional values in turn comprise-to use Martin Luther King, Jr.'s language-a ''promissory note'' that even the most deprived citizens can call upon government to honor. If constitutional attachment translates into attachment to constitutional principles in this way, the potential benefits may outweigh the costs of constitutional stasis.…”

An Ethical "Blind Spot": Problems of Anonymous Letters to the Editor

“…Finally, the publication of anonymous commentary is strongly rooted in the American journalistic tradition, from such high-minded essays as the "Letters of Junius" or "Silence Dogood" in the Colonial press (Hohenberg, 1971) to mundane letters signed with pseudonyms or initials published well into the mid-20th Century (Kaminski & Saladino, 1981;Reader, 2001;Storing, 1981).…”

The Historical Presidency: “Generalissimo of the Nation”: War Making and the Presidency in the Early Republic

“…Of particular concern to many were new powers given to a president to command the military and call the state militias into national service. The well‐known anti‐Federalist Cato exclaimed that “He is the generalissimo of the nation, and of course has the command and control of the army, navy and militia; he is the general conservator of the peace of the union … Will not the exercise of these powers therefore tend either to the establishment of a vile and arbitrary aristocracy or monarchy?” (Storing , 113‐16) . Patrick Henry similarly remarked that “your president may easily become king” (Ketcham , 213).…”