4 ms·
We don't have to divine the original intent. There are historical documents that lay out what the founders were thinking, not least of which is The Federalist P
by caymanjim 7y ago
We don't have to divine the original intent. There are historical documents that lay out what the founders were thinking, not least of which is The Federalist Papers #68.
[1]: https://www.historycentral.com/elections/Federalist.html https://www.historycentral.com/elections/Federalist.html
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_No._68 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_No._68
- kasey_junk 7y agoUsing the federalist papers as an example of a straight forward reading of intent is pretty bold. I for one won’t pay any tribute to them than exceeds their merit.
- ENOTTY 7y agoIt's also just a few members of the founders who wrote the Federalist papers. It's difficult to know what the majority of them actually thought.
- philwelch 7y agoThe federalist papers were intended to convince Americans to support the new constitution so it would get ratified, so I feel that Alexander Hamilton deliberately going out of his way to discuss how it was supposed to work captures something about the intent of those who ratified it based on that sales pitch.
- Amezarak 7y agoThe intent of those that ratified it varies wildly. The making of the Constitution was very contentious, and Hamilton definitely picked a side.
- kasey_junk 7y agoThere is approximately 200 years of the federalist papers being used in court decisions and it’s been controversial the whole time. The Wikipedia article on them has a surprisingly good discussion on their use in the courts.