Token Conservative

Writing about law, politics, and philosophy unshackled from the dominant academic mindset

  • Some Thoughts about the Declaration of Independence in the Context of 18th-Century Western Political Philosophy

                The first two paragraphs are the best known part of the Declaration of Independence. The first three sentences of the second paragraph, proclaiming five self-evident truths, have been fundamental in forming the American identity or, as some might say, the American mythos. They also have provided a conceptual framework within which crises as well as…

  • A Quarter-Millennium Later

                The semiquincentennial of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence of “the thirteen united States of America” on July 4, 1776, is upon us. This is a fancy way of saying that one-half of five hundred years has passed since that day. Most of us simply say 250th anniversary. However phrased, the event that day…

  • Supreme Court Upholds Virtually Unlimited United States Birthright Citizenship

                As predicted in my June 17 post, as well as by many others, including President Trump himself, the Supreme Court today overturned the executive order which prevented birthright citizenship for children born in the United States, if their foreign parents were here only temporarily or if neither parent of such a child was a U.S.…

  • Journey to Independence: A Brief Account

                 There are two recognized types of war, war between nations (“international war”) and war within a nation (“civil war”). In a civil war, some portion of the inhabitants forcibly seeks political change. The goal is to replace the existing constitutional government with their own by taking over the entire structure or by separating themselves and…

  • Virtue and Republicanism at the American Founding

               In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the publication of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, I plan to publish a number of essays over the next couple of months about the journey to that day, some of the persons who were instrumental in making it happen, the ideas which  made the event…

  • Some Thoughts on Birthright Citizenship

                As the end of the Supreme Court’s 2025-26 term approaches, we will soon see a major decision on “birthright citizenship” under the Constitution. In Trump v. Barbara, the Court will review the preliminary injunctions placed by lower federal courts against President Trump’s Executive Order 14160. That order denied automatic citizenship to the children born to women…