Overview

"This provocative essay considers the historical background, meaning and effect of the Ninth Amendment, which states ""the enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."" Patterson feels the amendment was ""forgotten"" because no real purpose has been found for it. He argues that the amendment would become valuable if it was construed to incorporate the doctrine of natural law, which he ranks above constitutional rights. Moreover, this doctrine should serve to restrict federal and state power."

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9781584778202

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Mr. Patterson does the law and juristic and political thinking a real service in calling attention specifically to the Ninth Amendment... The declaration of natural rights in the Ninth Amendment is not something to be relegated to a lumber room of outworn juristic or political ideas. The task is rather to make the natural law and natural rights as believed in by the founders... Roscoe Pound, Introduction (iii) Since its publication, scholars and judges of every political stripe have accepted Patterson's picture of an amendment lying dormant and forgotten prior to the twentieth century. Kurt T. Lash, The Lost History of the Ninth Amendment (2009) Whether the reader agrees with Mr. Patterson's contentions or not, the sincerity of his views cannot be gainsaid, and his treatment of the subject is stimulating and provocative. Right or wrong, his major contentions deserve evaluation by all students of Constitutional Law. Donald J. Farage, Dickinson Law Review 60 (1955-56) 291

Author Information

Bennett B. Patterson [1899-1980] practiced law in Houston, Texas.

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