Yes, Senator, The Founding Fathers Did Indeed Envision Unenumerated Rights

Official portrait of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals

Watching the Senate confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, I was impressed with her knowledge, composure, and most of all, her patience. If she is not confirmed, she would make an excellent teacher for disturbed children, for that is how the Republican senators acted. (I apologize if the comparison is unfair to such real children).

One of the issues these overgrown children pounded on during the hearing, was the “unenumerated rights” in the Constitution. According to them, if it is not explicitly set out in the Constitution, the Founding Fathers did not mean it to exist. Here is one case in which I found Judge Jackson’s response inadequate. She merely repeated current Supreme Court precedent on the establishment of unenumerated rights, and avoided the question of the intent of the framers of the Constitution.

But, in fact, the Founding Fathers (sic — they were indeed all rich, white men) not only envisioned the existence of unenumerated rights, they debated whether they should enumerate any rights at all in the Constitution.