[link removed]
[link removed]

Drawing on a lifetime of experience in the law—as prosecutor, defense attorney, and constitutional scholar—William Watkins Jr. offers a bold, independent examination of the most important legal document in modern history.


In America today, the President topples regimes over the weekend without so much as a nod to the legislature.


The Supreme Court micromanages all manner of policy decisions, from Christmas decorations to public health criminal penalties.


And as of this writing, nearly $40 trillion of national debt is ultimately the taxpayer’s responsibility to pay back. (That’s $120,000 for every American and nearly half a million dollars for a family of four, plus interest.)


That’s why William J. Watkins Jr. has written the road map back to constitutional sanity in America.


The Independent Guide to the Constitution: Original Intentions, Modern Inventions provides a meticulous, clause-by-clause analysis of America’s founding charter, revealing both the Framers’ original intentions and the modern interpretations that have reshaped constitutional governance—clearly not always for the better. This bold, nonpartisan analysis is exactly what’s needed for this time in American life.


Expertly researched, fascinating, and urgent as ever, this book is indispensable for laymen and scholars alike to understand the Constitution.
Learn More ([link removed])


** The Independent Guide to the Constitution
------------------------------------------------------------


** Original Intentions, Modern Inventions
------------------------------------------------------------

William J. Watkins Jr.

"The 'original intentions' of the people who ratified the U.S. Constitution were largely unlike the 'modern inventions' under which we now live. With The Independent Guide to the Constitution, William J. Watkins Jr. makes all clear."

—Kevin R. C. Gutzman, J.D., Ph.D., professor of history, Western Connecticut State University

"William J. Watkins’s The Independent Guide to the Constitution should be required reading for every American college student, lawyer, and judge. Written in the tradition of the great nineteenth-century jurists, Watkins’s treatise provides a graceful, lucid, clause-by clause reading of the U.S. Constitution."

—C. Bradley Thompson, Ph.D., professor of political science, Clemson University; executive director, Snow Institute for the Study of Capitalism

"William Watkins's study of the American Constitution is both well written and impressively erudite. It is full of memorable comments on the original articles and later amendments to our founding document."

—Paul Gottfried, editor in chief, Chronicles
[link removed]
Pre-order Now ([link removed])


** ABOUT THE AUTHOR
------------------------------------------------------------

William J. Watkins Jr. ([link removed]) is a practicing defense attorney and constitutional scholar, a research fellow at Independent Institute, and an adjunct instructor at Wofford College. He received his B.A. in history and German summa cum laude from Clemson University, his J.D. cum laude from the University of South Carolina School of Law, and his LL.M. with merit from the University of London. Mr. Watkins is a former law clerk to Judge William B. Traxler Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He has served as a prosecutor and defense lawyer, and has practiced in various state and federal courts. He is author of the book Crossroads for Liberty: Recovering the Anti-Federalist Values of America’s First Constitution ([link removed]) .
[link removed]

Donate ([link removed])

[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
mailto:[email protected]

You received this message because you are subscribed to Publications.

Independent Institute, 100 Swan Way, Oakland, CA 94621-1428
Manage preferences ([link removed]) | Unsubscribe ([link removed])

Copyright © 2026 Independent Institute, All rights reserved.