Reading List: Law is King vs. King is Law

Seventeenth Century Foundations

• Samuel Rutherford, Lex, Rex (1644) — Law above the king; rulers lose legitimacy if they break
  covenant.
  Eighteenth Century – Revolution and Founding
• Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence (1776) — ‘It is their right, it is their duty, to throw
  off such Government.’
• Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28 (1787) — Right of self-defense against tyranny;
  federalism provides a double safeguard.
• James Madison, Federalist No. 51 (1788) — Separation of powers prevents tyranny: ‘Ambition
  must be made to counteract ambition.’
  Nineteenth Century – Preservation of Union
• Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address (1863) — Tyranny resisted by preserving Union as
  government ‘of, by, for the people.’
• Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address (1861) — States cannot lawfully secede; popular
  government must not perish.
  Twentieth Century – Judicial Guardians of Law
• Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, 295 U.S. 602 (1935) — Limits presidential power to remove
  independent agency heads.
• United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974) — President is not above the law; compelled Nixon to
  hand over tapes.
  Twenty-First Century – Modern Resistance to ‘King is Law’
• Federal Judges on Birthright Citizenship EO (2025) — Injunctions blocking attempt to end 14th
  Amendment citizenship.
• McConnell v. OMB (D.R.I. 2025) — Blocked freeze of congressionally approved grants; reinforced
  congressional power of the purse.
• WilmerHale & Susman Godfrey Cases (D.D.C. 2025) — Retaliation orders struck down as
  unconstitutional.
• Jenner & Block v. Trump (D.D.C. 2025, Judge Bates) — Struck down under 1st, 5th, and 6th
  Amendments.
• Trump v. Alien Enemies Act (5th Cir. 2025) — Limited use of wartime statute for deportations.
• Breyer Ruling on LA Troop Deployment (D. Mass. 2025) — Deployment violated Posse Comitatus
  Act.
• Slaughter v. Trump (D.C. Cir. 2025) — FTC Commissioner reinstated, citing Humphrey’s Executor
  (1935).