For those joining the conversation mid-stream, this is the third in a series of posts introducing some themes of “The Constitution: An Introduction,” my new book co-authored with my son, Luke Paulsen.

Historical amnesia is as dangerously disorienting for a nation as for an individual. So it is with the current wave of enthusiasm for “states’ rights,” “interposition,” and “nullification”—the claim ...

Fifty years after its last high-water mark in American life, the dubious doctrine of interposition is back in vogue. Once offered up in vain by desperate southern leaders as a legal justification for ...

WHEN COMPARED to other civilizations, America is still a fledgling nation. But it is old enough to repeat certain behaviors. We often forget just how cyclic we are as a nation, especially in the realm ...

The repudiated doctrines of interposition and nullification were repudiated once more. Less than a year ago, on July 16, 2009, the Richmond Times-Dispatch ran an editorial apologizing for its role and ...

A number of states, including Missouri, Kansas, and Alaska either have passed or are considering state laws intended to invalidate federal statutes, most notably, federal gun laws. Many have modeled ...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry talks about seceding from the Union, and he is echoed by Sarah Palin – to the cheers of adoring crowds. Texas gubernatorial candidate Deborah Medina, going even further than even ...

Health care reform has provoked an even stronger response nationally, with more than 20 legislatures debating bills to invalidate Obamacare within their states. As the National Conference of State ...

The U.S. Supreme Court building. (Jacquelyn Martin, The Associated Press) Almost every semester in one of my courses at LSU, I discuss Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. There's a ...

"The Constitution: An Introduction" was published this month by Basic Books. For those joining the conversation mid-stream, this is the third in a series of posts introducing some themes of "The ...