Donald L. Drakeman

Oct 24, 2024 | claremontreviewofbooks.com | Steven Hayward |Daniel Palm |Donald L. Drakeman |Algis Valiunas

Samuel Johnson declared that “men more frequently require to be reminded than informed.” Perhaps Barry Goldwater had this injunction in mind in his famous nomination acceptance speech 50 years ago at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco.

Sep 13, 2024 | lawliberty.org | Donald L. Drakeman |Robert G. Natelson |Steven Hayward

September 13, 2024 When it comes to the Constitution, the Framers, not the ratifiers, undertook the essential law-making acts. Professor Natelson’s August 29 essay is a valiant attempt to do the impossible. He tries to convince us that the “Founders’ Originalism” is not what the Founders actually did but what he thinks they should have done. Hylton v. United States (1796) is the first case in which the Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of a federal statute.

Aug 29, 2024 | lawliberty.org | Robert G. Natelson |Donald L. Drakeman |Samuel Gregg |Titus Techera

Professor Donald Drakeman’s response to my essay on direct and indirect taxes presents an opportunity to offer some background on constitutional originalism. My thesis was that the longstanding uncertainty over the Constitution’s distinction between direct and indirect taxes persists because probative Founding-era evidence continues to be overlooked.

Aug 12, 2024 | lawliberty.org | Donald L. Drakeman |Robert G. Natelson |Wilfred Reilly

Rob Natelson’s essay, “The Constitutional Line on Direct Taxes,” concludes that the Supreme Court’s decisions involving direct and indirect taxes have been “conflicting, uncertain—and wrong.” Those decisions may have been conflicting and uncertain, but whether they are wrong is a more complicated question. He urges us to do a deep dive into “eighteenth-century tax vocabulary and … contemporaneous tax laws” to identify a clear and consistent understanding of these terms.

Dec 21, 2023 | lawliberty.org | Donald L. Drakeman |Graham McAleer |Colleen A. Sheehan

The seasons of Advent and Christmas bring more classical music to American ears than any other time of year. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing is sung to a tune by Mendelssohn. The season isn’t complete without a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker or Handel’s Messiah. And of course, Josh Groban’s recording of the Schubert Ave Maria is piped into virtually every shopping mall. Today’s constitutional miracle tale centers on a different Ave Maria, one initially written for a group of Bavarian firemen.