When we talk about “the Founders” of the United States, we often think of the 55 men of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, 1787. We might even think of the great defenders of the Constitution that emerged from the Convention, such as Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. But to understand the Constitutional republic we have, we must listen not just to its supporters but its detractors – known as the Anti-Federalists – lest we run the risk of playing judge while considering only one party’s brief.

Judge Andrew Oldham of the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit is accustomed to giving both sides their due, and as such set out to explore the argument of the Anti-Federalists, in essays collected by the late Herbert Storing in ‘The Complete Anti-Federalist’. Why were they so worried about the Executive Branch? What can they tell us about today’s administrative state? And how should their arguments inform current debates about the Constitution’s original public meaning? Judge Oldham joins Unprecedential to cover all this and more.

Links:
Judge Oldham’s article, “The Anti-Federalists: Past as Prologue”
Assorted works of Herbert Storing

The post Et tu, Brutus? The Anti-Federalists as Co-founders appeared first on American Enterprise Institute – AEI.

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  1. Hank Rhody, Badgeless Bandito Contributor
    Hank Rhody, Badgeless Bandito
    @HankRhody

    Good show.

    • #1
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