Name That Federalist Paper!
Which Federalist Paper argues that factions are inevitable but controllable through an extended republic?
Federalist No. 10
Expressio unius est exclusio alterius
The expression of one is the exclusion of the other
In a Commerce Clause hypo, the President claims inherent authority to regulate a wholly intrastate activity because “Congress didn’t forbid it.” A student could counter with expressio unius:
Article I §8 carefully lists specific federal powers—taxing, commerce, war, naturalization.
The deliberate enumeration suggests limits.
Since police power is not enumerated, it remains with the states.
What was King John forced to sign in 1215 that first limited royal power?
The Magna Carta.
Which philosopher inspired Jefferson’s ideas of natural rights and rebellion?
John Locke.
What 1776 document, written by George Mason, influenced both Jefferson and Madison? Then, identify two parallel grievances shared by the English Bill of Rights and X.
The Virginia Declaration of Rights.
No taxation without representation
No standing army without consent
No excessive bail/fines
No cruel or unusual punishment
Right to jury trial
Which Federalist Paper insists that “ambition must be made to counteract ambition”?
Federalist No. 51
Ubi jus ibi remedium
In order to have a right, you must have a remedy.
A student could invoke this principle when analyzing Marbury v. Madison or a modern exam hypo involving an executive official refusing to carry out ministerial duties.
If the Constitution grants a right (e.g., to a commission),
and an officer violates it,
“it would cease to be a government of laws” if courts could not provide a remedy.
The Glorious Revolution ended which doctrine that had justified unchecked monarchy?
The Divine Right of Kings.
Who distinguished between the “executive” and “federative” powers — and what’s the difference?
Locke
Executive power: Execution of domestic laws.
Federative power: Foreign affairs and war/peace decisions.
Whose early experiment in Pennsylvania emphasized consent, open debate, religious tolerance, and universal citizenship?
William Penn
Hamilton argued for “energy in the executive” in which Federalist Paper?
Federalist No. 70
Nemo iudex in causa sua
No one shall be a judge in his own cause.
In a removal hypo, imagine a statute allowing the President to adjudicate disputes involving the legality of his own executive orders.
A student could invoke this maxim to argue that such a design violates due process.
The idea is embedded in:
English constitutional history (your outline’s discussion of the Glorious Revolution)
Modern structural cases like Morrison (fear of self-policing executive), Free Enterprise Fund, and even Youngstown (executive can’t define the scope of its own power unilaterally).
Which monarch’s abuses led Parliament to issue the Grand Remonstrance and eventually execute him?
King Charles I.
William Penn’s Frame of Government embodied what ethical and political ideal?
Government as an ethical means and ethical end, emphasizing consent, tolerance, free speech, and jury rights.
What Articles-era weakness did the Bedford Resolution aim to fix?
The inability of states to act when “separately incompetent” → strengthened national powers at the Constitutional Convention.
In which Federalist Paper does Madison defend the idea that complete separation of powers is neither possible nor desirable?
Federalist No. 47
Quad erat demonstratum (QED)
“Which was to be demonstrated.” (implies it’s obvious).
Suppose Congress creates an “Emergency Governance Board” with sweeping powers and says its constitutionality is self-evident because “Congress declared it constitutional.”
A student might point out that this is a QED fallacy—restating the conclusion without providing reasoning.
It ties to the critique the Court made in:
United States v. Lopez (“we need limiting principles, not conclusions dressed up as reasoning”) and
NFIB v. Sebelius (“the Commerce Clause cannot be justified by asserting the conclusion”).
How did the English Bill of Rights influence the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers and the right to bear arms?
Inspired Speech and Debate Clause, limits on standing armies, and Parliamentary supremacy → U.S. checks and balances.
Directly influenced the Second Amendment (James II’s disarming of Protestants).
How does Blackstone’s notion of sovereignty differ from the U.S. model?
Blackstone: Parliament is absolute and final.
U.S. system: Power divided across three coequal branches; the people are sovereign.
How did the failures of the Articles of Confederation (especially state-level economic retaliation) influence both the drafting of the Constitution and one very key clause? -- HINT: Thomas hates this clause.
The Dormant Commerce Clause
Under the Articles, states imposed tariffs and trade barriers against each other, creating economic Balkanization. This failure pushed the Framers toward a strong national commerce power and a ban on state interference with interstate commerce.
Which Federalist Paper argues that returning constantly to “the people” for constitutional revisions would breed instability?
Federalist No. 49
Sui generis
“Of its own kind” (unique, one of a kind).
A student could describe the Independent Counsel in Morrison v. Olson as sui generis:
Limited jurisdiction
Limited tenure
Single-purpose mandate
This uniqueness allowed the Court to uphold a structure that would otherwise appear inconsistent with separation of powers.
Similarly, a student might use sui generis to describe the CFPB in a Seila Law–themed hypo (a single-headed independent agency).
“Sui generis” helps students explain why certain institutional structures don’t create binding structural rules for all agencies.
Name two abuses listed in the English Bill of Rights that inform separation-of-powers concerns addressed in Youngstown?
The King’s suspending and dispensing powers, and
Levying taxes without Parliamentary approval
These abuses showed how unchecked executive authority threatened liberty, which shaped American structural limits on executive power and helped inform the Court’s rejection of Truman’s unilateral seizure of the steel mills in Youngstown.
Locke argued that legislative power is supreme but still limited. Name the foundational case that you can apply this principle, and how did this idea influence the Court’s reasoning?
Marbury v. Madison
Locke’s view that legislatures cannot act beyond the authority conferred by the people parallels Marbury’s holding that Congress cannot expand the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction beyond Article III. Both assert that legislatures are bound by a higher constitutional framework and cannot exceed their delegated power.
How did colonial and early state traditions shape the Framers’ belief that military power must be constrained, and how does this tradition inform modern war-powers disputes?
Colonial and early state charters consistently reflected distrust of standing armies and unchecked executive military authority. The Virginia Declaration of Rights condemned standing armies in time of peace as dangerous to liberty and required that the military be “subordinate to the civil power.” Likewise, Penn’s Frame of Government emphasized civilian control, representative oversight, and limits on coercive force. These homegrown commitments shaped the Constitution’s allocation of war powers—giving Congress authority over raising armies and funding them, while making the President Commander in Chief only once forces are lawfully raised. This tradition echoes in Youngstown, where the Court rejected Truman’s attempt to use military power to seize steel mills.