Thoughts from the Founding Fathers, no. 1

Before heading to law school, I was fascinated with the foresight our Founding Fathers exhibited in creating the US Constitution that exists today.  Of course, my study of law only enhanced my interest in how it was drafted, why certain language was included, and the debate that constantly occupies the nation.  To indulge my own interest, this post is my first entry of many discussing the Founders and will feature a quote from one of them (thanks to my father-in-law, Capt. Philip Crowell, III, US Navy (retired) for feeding these to me).  Enjoy!

"The first and governing maxim in the interpretation of a statute is to discover the meaning of those who made it."

-  James Wilson, Of the Study of Law in the United States (1790)

This statement seems especially important today with the gun control debate centering on the Second Amendment.  Without arguing my personal opinion on the matter, James Wilson's statement suggests that when interpreting the meaning of our Constitution, we should take a look at what it meant to the authors.  This, or course, means taking a look at the Federalist Papers, for a start, as well as statutory construction during the late eighteenth century, among other sources.  I wonder how many citizens involved in the discussion have done that?

James Wilson, for the record, was born in Scotland in 1742 before moving to the US in 1766 to begin practicing law.  He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and an original Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  You can read more about him here.

Feel free to leave your comments.  I would love to start a dialogue with any willing participant.

Best,

JD

John D. Duncan is president of J.D. Duncan, PC, founding partner of Prater, Duncan & Craig, LLC in Newnan, Georgia, and is Esquire by Day.  You can find him at www.jdduncanlaw.com, or follow him on twitter and Facebook.