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The article discusses the author's claims regarding a liberal movement aimed at undermining free speech in America as of 2015, and it mentions the U.S. Alien and Sedition Acts, the views of former American Presidents such as James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, and the promotion of liberal ideology at U.S. colleges and universities. Intolerance and arrogance are examined, along with ignorance and the efforts to stifle conservative viewpoints. Several U.S. constitutional law cases are assessed.

The article discusses the author's views about the creation of the U.S. Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment and the impact of the amendment on the founding principles of constitutional federalism in the country. The 39th U.S. Congress in 1865 is addressed, along with the post-American Civil War era, former slaves in the nation, and the views of the late U.S. President James Madison. The attitudes of Radical Republicans and Democrats are assessed.

This article assesses the association between ethnic identity and political factionalism in the thought of Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971), the American theologian, ethical philosopher, public commentator, and former professor at Union Theological Seminary. It is the first study to offer an extended assessment of his interest in the political theory of James Madison, the chief architect of the US Constitution. In doing so it sheds new light on the interaction -- but also the dissonance - between Niebuhr's ideas on racial factionalism and the ideology of 'colour-blind conservatism' that developed in the decades after his death. Niebuhr queried those who believed that federal institutions could accomplish racial equality merely through top-down acts of legislation. However benevolent governments seemed, he asserted, they were likely comprised of fallible individuals whose support for racial equality masked more selfish interests. From the 1970s to the present day, some conservative policy commentators have tried to use Niebuhr's ideas in opposition to affirmative action and other large-scale government initiatives, many of which are intended to impact positively against the continuing disadvantages of African-American communities. Alongside their reading of Niebuhr, they have tended to stress the necessary neutrality of government interventionism, as supposedly promoted by America's constitutional architects during the late-eighteenth century. A desire for neutrality, they suggest, provides a framework to oppose any further state and federal initiatives in racial matters following the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Yet in contrast to their ideology of colour-blind conservatism, Niebuhr's diagnosis of intractable race-pride did not require citizens to eschew the importance of state and federal institutions in diminishing racial inequality. Partially influenced by his reading of Madison on faction, Niebuhr suggested that the intractability of racial distinctions required continued federal activity even after the legal dismantling of segregation; so as to channel ethnic tensions through representative mechanisms, rather than simply wishing them away. During the last three decades, color-blind conservatism has tended to eschew the radical implications in Niebuhr's discussion of the relationship between American government and ethnic factionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How should the federal government be organized--and who (i.e., which departments, agencies, bureaus, and commissions) should do what? The issue is not new: President James Madison addressed governmental organization in his 1812 State of the Union Address, and, in the last century, it is the rare President that does not propose to reorganize some part of the federal government. On many occasions during the past century, nearly every part of the federal government has been repeatedly reorganized and reconfigured. In previous work, we have examined the dynamics that influence the assignment of regulatory duties to an agency, how those dynamics (and the allocation of responsibilities) can change over time, and how the specific combination of regulatory functions and purposes affects agency decisionmaking. We apply the framework developed in previous work to examine the costs and benefits of the design choices made by the architects of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and make some (appropriately hedged) predictions about the future prospects of this recent addition to the federal bureaucracy. We also briefly consider the implications of our analysis for the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on the historiographic influences of American legal historian William E. Nelson's work on judicial review. Topics discussed include the decision of the U.S Supreme Court in case Marbury v. Madison, Supreme Court's issuance of a writ of mandamus to Secretary of State James Madison, and deployment of the Court's power of judicial review. It also discusses the legal history of Supreme Court case Cooper v. Aaron.