No Treason, Vol. VI.: The Constitution of No Authority

"No Treason, Vol. VI.: The Constitution of No Authority" by Lysander Spooner is a thought-provoking essay from the 1800s that questions whether the U.S. Constitution truly holds power over people today. It claims the Constitution is not a valid agreement for current generations because they never agreed to it, and thus, it cannot justly force obligations on people who were never asked about it. The essay starts by challenging the idea that the Constitution has any real authority, arguing that it was simply an agreement among people who lived when it was created and cannot bind those who came later. The initial chapters discuss the meaning of consent, voting, and taxes, asserting that these things don't actually show real agreement or support for the government's actions as described in the Constitution. Spooner presents the Constitution as outdated, building his argument on legal ideas and exposing the lie of a government system that pretends to have consent but is kept in place through force and secrecy.