Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Mike Maharrey
“Luther Martin warned that the Constitution would create a centralized national government with few real restraints – one that would steadily erode state sovereignty, override local control, and impose its will under the guise of law. In his essay Genuine Information, he outlined the many ways he believed the proposed system would accelerate the consolidation of power. Among these dangers, he singled out three provisions as particularly alarming: an all-powerful federal judiciary, the ability to suspend habeas corpus, and the continuation of slavery. Together, Martin saw these provisions as a dangerous trifecta – key pillars of a broader system of unchecked national power. He feared this system would reduce the states to mere administrative units, make justice unattainable, and embed moral contradiction into the very foundation of the new republic.” (03/29/25)