About the book
In a constitutional republic, government is supposed to act by permission—the permission the people gave through a written Constitution. Public officers receive limited authority for defined purposes. The citizen does not receive liberty from them.
A Republic by Permission traces how that relationship has often been reversed. It follows courts, legislatures, presidents, agencies, states, and local governments through the cases and crises that expanded public power from the founding era to modern life.
The book tests each claim through constitutional text, original public meaning, judicial holdings, later institutional development, the strongest opposing argument, and a practical path toward lawful restoration. It is written for readers new to law while supplying the sources and distinctions serious researchers expect.
What the book covers
- Constitutional text, original public meaning, and the hierarchy of public authority
- Judicial review, precedent, court pressure, and decisions later overruled
- Federalism, spending conditions, delegation, agencies, and administrative adjudication
- Family, work, property, privacy, policing, permanent status, and emergency power
- Lawful routes for citizens, states, Congress, presidents, courts, and Article V