How a Famous English Convention Clarifies the Role of a Convention of States

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American Thinker:

September 26, 2015

How a Famous English Convention Clarifies the Role of a Convention of States

By Rob Natelson

In the Anglo-American constitutional tradition, a “convention” can mean a contract, but the word is more often applied to an assembly, other than a legislature, convened to address ad hoc political problems. The “Convention for proposing Amendments” authorized by Article V of the Constitution is designed to be that kind of assembly.

 

The first political conventions were held in England in 1660 and 1688-89. These gatherings looked something like parliaments, but they were titled “conventions” because only the Crown could call a parliament, and they were not called by the Crown. Moreover, they were convened to address specific constitutional issues, not to legislate.

Rob Natelson was a law professor for 25 years and is currently Senior Fellow in Constitutional Jurisprudence at the Independence Institute. Since 2013, his work has been cited frequently at the U.S. Supreme Court by both justices and parties.