Tag: US Constitution
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When George Washington took the oath of office in 1789, there was no blueprint for what a president should be. The Constitution provided a skeletal outline—vague by design, born from a fear of monarchy—but the practical and symbolic weight of the role was undefined. Washington’s true legacy lies in how he filled in that blank…
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On Jefferson, Hamilton, and the Elasticity of America’s Founding Document The year is 1790. The ink on the Constitution is barely dry, and already its meaning is up for grabs. At the heart of the young republic’s first major political schism lies a deceptively simple question: If something isn’t explicitly stated in the Constitution, can…