In his dissent in Comptroller of Treasury of Md. v. Wynne, Justice Thomas offers this concise string cite for the importance of founding-era traditions for originalism:
In other areas of constitutional analysis, we would have considered these laws to be powerful evidence of the origi- nal understanding of the Constitution. We have, for example, relied on the practices of the First Congress to guide our interpretation of provisions defining congres- sional power. See, e.g., Golan v. Holder, 565 U. S. ___, ___ (2012) (slip op., at 16) (Copyright Clause); McCulloch v. Maryland, 4 Wheat. 316, 401–402 (1819) (Necessary and Proper Clause). We have likewise treated “actions taken by the First Congress a[s] presumptively consistent with the Bill of Rights,” Town of Greece v. Galloway, 572 U. S. ___, ___ (2014) (ALITO, J., concurring) (slip op., at 12). See, e.g., id., at ___ – ___ (majority opinion) (slip op., at 7– 8); Carroll v. United States, 267 U. S. 132, 150–152 (1925). And we have looked to founding-era state laws to guide our understanding of the Constitution’s meaning. See, e.g., District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U. S. 570, 600–602 (2008) (Second Amendment); Atwater v. Lago Vista, 532 U. S. 318, 337–340 (2001) (Fourth Amendment); Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476, 482–483 (1957) (First Amendment); Kilbourn v. Thompson, 103 U. S. 168, 202– 203 (1881) (Speech and Debate Clause); see also Calder v. Bull, 3 Dall. 386, 396–397 (1798) (opinion of Paterson, J.) (Ex Post Facto Clause). … As was well said in another area of constitu- tional law: “[I]f there is any inconsistency between [our] tests and the historic practice . . . , the inconsistency calls into question the validity of the test, not the historic prac- tice.” Town of Greece, supra, at ___ (ALITO, J., concurring) (slip op., at 12).
I think that last citation was a gratuitous jab at Justice Alito, who authored the majority opinion in Wynne.