# How does No Treason develop the theme of Constitution as Dead Contract?

> No Treason by Lysander Spooner

## Answer

No Treason by Lysander Spooner develops Constitution as Dead Contract across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.

The book contends that the Constitution was a contract only among the founding generation, which cannot bind posterity, and that no living person has voluntarily consented to it through voting or taxation.

Argues that the Constitution, as a contract among individuals, died with the original signers, and thus cannot bind later generations.

The chapter contends that the original signers could not bind future generations, and that the Constitution has no binding force on those who never consented.

Implied critique: if consent is the foundation, then the Constitution's authority may lapse when original signers die.

## Evidence

- [no-treason](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/no_treason_se/chapters/no-treason.md): Argues that the Constitution, as a contract among individuals, died with the original signers, and thus cannot bind later generations.
- [i](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/no_treason_se/chapters/i.md): The chapter contends that the original signers could not bind future generations, and that the Constitution has no binding force on those who never consented.
- [iii](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/no_treason_se/chapters/iii.md): Implied critique: if consent is the foundation, then the Constitution's authority may lapse when original signers die.
- [x](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/no_treason_se/chapters/x.md): The Constitution is treated as a meaningless document, written by swindlers, and its written provisions are ignored in favor of fraudulent intentions.
- [i](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/no_treason_se/chapters/i.md): The central argument: the Constitution died with its original signers and cannot bind the living.
- [iv](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/no_treason_se/chapters/iv.md): The chapter argues the Constitution never bound anyone because it was never signed or delivered, making it a dead letter as a contract.
- [v](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/no_treason_se/chapters/v.md): The Constitution is portrayed as an unsigned, unwitnessed document that cannot legally bind anyone, akin to waste paper.
- [vii](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/no_treason_se/chapters/vii.md): The Constitution is argued to be no contract at all, binding nobody, because it was never signed by the people.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/no_treason_se/questions/how-constitution-as-dead-contract
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/no_treason_se
- All questions: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/no_treason_se/questions