According to Wikipedia, “originalism” is a theory of interpretation that tries to discover the original meaning or original intent of the Constitution. But the main problem with this theory is that the framers of the Constitution themselves did not agree on its meaning. Consider, for example, the specific question whether the Congress has the power to charter a national bank, a constitutional question that was debated at the founding of our republic. James Madison thought that Congress did not have the power to charter a national bank, since the powers of Congress are specifically enumerated, while Alexander Hamilton thought otherwise, since a national bank was a means to several of Congress’s enumerated ends, such as the power to collect taxes and borrow money. Although both statesmen attended the secret Philadelphia Convention and co-wrote the famous Federalist Papers, along with John Jay, they were not able to agree about the scope of Congress’s powers, which is one of the most important questions in constitutional law. So, if originalism is of no help on this question, why does originalism (like Santa Clause and other fables) refuse to die?