Kirkus review

Kirkus reviews America's Forgotten Constitutions: "The author succinctly explains each of these constitutions with the thoroughness of a legal mind and writing that avoids legalese."  More here.

A Poem: Stephen Burt, "Indian Stream Republic" (2013)

Stephen Burt, a professor of English at Harvard, has written a poem titled "Indian Stream Republic" (2013):

No one should be this alone--
none of the pines
in their prepotent verticals,

none of the unseen
hunters or blundering moose
who might stop by the empty lodge or the lake

as blue as if there had never been people
although there are people: a few
at the general store, and evidence of more

in clean vinyl siding, and down the extended street
a ruddy steel pole the height of a child, its plaque
remembering a place called Liberty

at Indian Stream, 1832-35,
between the disputed boundaries
of Canada and New Hampshire, meant
as temporary, almost
content to remain its own.
Each household, their constitution said, could possess

one cow, one hog, one gun,
books, bedding and hay, seven sheep and their wool, secure
from attachment for debt no matter the cause.

The state militia came to set them right.
The legerdemain of the noon sun through needles and leaves,
revealing almost nothing, falls across

thin shadows, thin trace of American wheels and hands
for such high soil and such short reward:
the people . . . do hereby mutually agree

to form themselves into a body politic
by the name of Indian Stream, and in that capacity
to exercise all the powers of a sovereign
till such time as we can ascertain to what
government we properly belong.

No one should be this alone— none of the pines in their prepotent verticals, none of the unseen hunters or blundering moose who might stop by the empty lodge or the lake as blue as if there had never been people although there are people: a few at the general store, and evidence of more in clean vinyl siding, and down the extended street a ruddy steel pole the height of a child, its plaque remembering a place called Liberty at Indian Stream, 1832-35, between the disputed boundaries of Canada and New Hampshire, meant as temporary, almost content to remain its own. Each household, their constitution said, could possess one cow, one hog, one gun, books, bedding and hay, seven sheep and their wool, secure from attachment for debt no matter the cause. The state militia came to set them right. The legerdemain of the noon sun through needles and leaves, revealing almost nothing, falls across thin shadows, thin trace of American wheels and hands for such high soil and such short reward: the people... do hereby mutually agree to form themselves into a body politic by the name of Indian Stream, and in that capacity to exercise all the powers of a sovereign till such time as we can ascertain to what government we properly belong. - See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23543#sthash.slw57nGY.dpuf

No one should be this alone— none of the pines in their prepotent verticals, none of the unseen hunters or blundering moose who might stop by the empty lodge or the lake as blue as if there had never been people although there are people: a few at the general store, and evidence of more in clean vinyl siding, and down the extended street a ruddy steel pole the height of a child, its plaque remembering a place called Liberty at Indian Stream, 1832-35, between the disputed boundaries of Canada and New Hampshire, meant as temporary, almost content to remain its own. Each household, their constitution said, could possess one cow, one hog, one gun, books, bedding and hay, seven sheep and their wool, secure from attachment for debt no matter the cause. The state militia came to set them right. The legerdemain of the noon sun through needles and leaves, revealing almost nothing, falls across thin shadows, thin trace of American wheels and hands for such high soil and such short reward: the people... do hereby mutually agree to form themselves into a body politic by the name of Indian Stream, and in that capacity to exercise all the powers of a sovereign till such time as we can ascertain to what government we properly belong. - See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23543#sthash.slw57nGY.dpuf

No one should be this alone— none of the pines in their prepotent verticals, none of the unseen hunters or blundering moose who might stop by the empty lodge or the lake as blue as if there had never been people although there are people: a few at the general store, and evidence of more in clean vinyl siding, and down the extended street a ruddy steel pole the height of a child, its plaque remembering a place called Liberty at Indian Stream, 1832-35, between the disputed boundaries of Canada and New Hampshire, meant as temporary, almost content to remain its own. Each household, their constitution said, could possess one cow, one hog, one gun, books, bedding and hay, seven sheep and their wool, secure from attachment for debt no matter the cause. The state militia came to set them right. The legerdemain of the noon sun through needles and leaves, revealing almost nothing, falls across thin shadows, thin trace of American wheels and hands for such high soil and such short reward: the people... do hereby mutually agree to form themselves into a body politic by the name of Indian Stream, and in that capacity to exercise all the powers of a sovereign till such time as we can ascertain to what government we properly belong. - See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23543#sthash.slw57nGY.dpuf

No one should be this alone— none of the pines in their prepotent verticals, none of the unseen hunters or blundering moose who might stop by the empty lodge or the lake as blue as if there had never been people although there are people: a few at the general store, and evidence of more in clean vinyl siding, and down the extended street a ruddy steel pole the height of a child, its plaque remembering a place called Liberty at Indian Stream, 1832-35, between the disputed boundaries of Canada and New Hampshire, meant as temporary, almost content to remain its own. Each household, their constitution said, could possess one cow, one hog, one gun, books, bedding and hay, seven sheep and their wool, secure from attachment for debt no matter the cause. The state militia came to set them right. The legerdemain of the noon sun through needles and leaves, revealing almost nothing, falls across thin shadows, thin trace of American wheels and hands for such high soil and such short reward: the people... do hereby mutually agree to form themselves into a body politic by the name of Indian Stream, and in that capacity to exercise all the powers of a sovereign till such time as we can ascertain to what government we properly belong. - See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23543#sthash.slw57nGY.dpuf

John Brown's Execution: Serving "the state in this her hour of trial"

On Dec. 2, 1859, John Brown was hanged to death before an impressive array of military officers, VMI cadets, and local law enforcement officials. John T. L. Preston, a founder and faculty member of VMI, attended the execution. He wrote a letter to his wife describing the event, which was later published in the newspaper. Preston recalled his impressions as the death sentence was being carried out: "the man of strong and bloody hand, of fierce passions, of iron will, of wonderful vicissitudes, the terrible partisan of Kansas, the capturer of the United States Arsenal at Harper's Ferry, the would-be Catiline of the South, the demi-god of the abolitionists, the man execrated and lauded, damned and prayed for, the man who in his motives, his means, his plans, and his successes, must ever be a wonder, a puzzle, and a mystery--John Brown--was hanging between heaven and earth." 

Preston ruminated on the political significance of Brown's ritualized killing before the assembled military officers and cadets: "But the moral of the scene was its grand point. A sovereign state had been assailed, and she had uttered but a hint, and her sons had hastened to show that they were ready to defend her. Law had been violated by actual murder and attempted treason, and that gibbet was erected by law, and to uphold law was this military force assembled." The public ritual was carefully orchestrated, with both the Governor and a general warning people to stay home and guard their property against any danger that might arise.  Only small crowds emerged, as military officials stopped a train, kept groups separated or detained, and ensured that witnesses stayed far away from the actual hanging. Eyewitness accounts by law enforcement and military officials were later presented to the press. The State of Virginia's message--that Brown's death was necessary for the restoration of the rule of law and that dangers from radical abolitionists remained--appeared to have been widely received. As Preston notes, "There is but one opinion as to the completeness of the arrangements made on the occasion, and the absolute success with which they were carried out."

Pre-order America's Forgotten Constitutions

Pre-order America's Forgotten Constitutions at Amazon.com.

Institute of Bill of Rights Talk: "Why Study Failed Constitutions? John Brown's Vision for America"

I will be giving a talk based on the book at the Law School for the College of William and Mary on November 10, 2011.  Here is a synopsis and further details of the talk:

 It is often said that winners get to write history. Well, it's also true that successful constitutions dictate what we think of as the goals and parameters of constitutionalism, along with which legal and political ideas are plausible. In this talk, Professor Robert Tsai will argue that we have much to learn from the failed constitutions of America's past. Drawing from his forthcoming book, "Defiant Designs: America's Forgotten Constitutions" (Harvard, 2012), Professor Tsai will invite the audience to examine John Brown's Constitution, reflect on what it signified on the eve of civil war, and consider the paths not taken. Today Brown is remembered for his attack on Harpers Ferry and his subsequent execution for treason. The talk will recover Brown's efforts to become a Founding Father.

Aryans, Gender, and American Politics

This short essay discusses some of the ways in which the Aryan movement in America activates gendered beliefs for the goal of legal, political, and cultural transformation. In recent years, the community has moved from common law theories of white sovereignty to more robust forms of racial constitutionalism.

Video of Clason Lecture

My March 3, 2011, lecture on the founders of the Indian Stream Republic can be viewed here.