Originally Posted by Colin P. Varga

You have stated what you thought the founders intended at that time, but how do we know what they did not intend?

Originally Posted by Colin P. Varga

And how do we know that they always wanted the Constitution to be analyzed by the process of "original intent"?

Originally Posted by john w k

I have documented what the founders intended.

Originally Posted by john w k

I have documented what the founders intended.




Because abiding by the intentions and beliefs under which the framers and ratifiers adopted the law is the most fundamental rule of constitutional law. Not only did the principle have hundreds of years of practices on American soil, but it dates back to English common law which is engrained in our very own Constitution.

But here is the principle expressed by one of our most notable founding fathers:

"On every question of construction [of the Constitution], carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed."--Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, June 12, 1823, The Complete Jefferson, p. 322. .


JWK