My march through American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia (ISI Books, 2006) brings me today to Nathaniel Macon, the “North Carolina planter, Revolutionary soldier, opponent of the Constitution, state representative and senator, U.S. representative and senator, chairman of the House and Senate Foreign Relations committees, president pro-tempore of the Senate, and presiding officer of the 1835 North Carolina constitutional convention….”
W. Kirk Wood’s flattering description of Macon includes the following:
His cause, above all, was that of constitutionalism defined as the act or process of restraining government by means of a written charter approved by the people as the sovereign authority that defines and limits what powers can and cannot be exercised. Only by maintaining inviolate the sacred charter of American government and its wise distribution of powers, he believed, could liberty be preserved. For Macon, this meant interpreting the Constitution strictly and maintaining the rights of states as bulwarks against the abuse of power by the federal government.
You can read more here about Macon’s role in the N.C. Constitution of 1835, courtesy of the N.C. History Project.
