Constitutional Politics

Constitutional Politics
Author: Sotirios A. Barber
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2001-12-09
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780691088693

What does it mean to have a constitution? Scholars and students associated with Walter Murphy at Princeton University have long asked this question in their exploration of constitutional politics and judicial behavior. These scholars, concerned with the making, maintenance, and deliberate change of the Constitution, have made unique and significant contributions to our understanding of American constitutional law by going against the norm of court-centered and litigation-minded research. Beginning in the late 1970s, this new wave of academics explored questions ranging from the nature of creating the U.S. Constitution to the philosophy behind amending it. In this collection, Sotirios A. Barber and Robert P. George bring together fourteen essays by members of this Princeton group--some of the most distinguished scholars in the field. These works consider the meaning of having a constitution, the implications of particular choices in the design of constitutions, and the meaning of judicial supremacy in the interpretation of the Constitution. The overarching ambition of this collection is to awaken a constitutionalist consciousness in its readers--to view themselves as potential makers and changers of constitutions, as opposed to mere subjects of existing arrangements. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Walter F. Murphy, John E. Finn, Christopher L. Eisgruber, James E. Fleming, Jeffrey K. Tulis, Suzette Hemberger, Stephen Macedo, Sanford Levinson, H. N. Hirsch, Wayne D. Moore, Keith E. Whittington, and Mark E. Brandon.

Original Meanings

Original Meanings
Author: Jack N. Rakove
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 464
Release: 2010-04-21
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0307434516

From abortion to same-sex marriage, today's most urgent political debates will hinge on this two-part question: What did the United States Constitution originally mean and who now understands its meaning best? Rakove chronicles the Constitution from inception to ratification and, in doing so, traces its complex weave of ideology and interest, showing how this document has meant different things at different times to different groups of Americans.

The Political Constitution

The Political Constitution
Author: Greg Weiner
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2019-08-02
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0700628371

Who should decide what is constitutional? The Supreme Court, of course, both liberal and conservative voices say—but in a bracing critique of the “judicial engagement” that is ascendant on the legal right, Greg Weiner makes a cogent case to the contrary. His book, The Political Constitution, is an eloquent political argument for the restraint of judicial authority and the return of the proper portion of constitutional authority to the people and their elected representatives. What Weiner calls for, in short, is a reconstitution of the political commons upon which a republic stands. At the root of the word “republic” is what Romans called the res publica, or the public thing. And it is precisely this—the sense of a political community engaging in decisions about common things as a coherent whole—that Weiner fears is lost when all constitutional authority is ceded to the judiciary. His book calls instead for a form of republican constitutionalism that rests on an understanding that arguments about constitutional meaning are, ultimately, political arguments. What this requires is an enlargement of the res publica, the space allocated to political conversation and a shared pursuit of common things. Tracing the political and judicial history through which this critical political space has been impoverished, The Political Constitution seeks to recover the sense of political community on which the health of the republic, and the true working meaning of the Constitution, depends.

The Cult of the Constitution

The Cult of the Constitution
Author: Mary Anne Franks
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2019-05-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1503609103

“A powerful challenge to the prevailing constitutional orthodoxy of the right and the left . . . A deeply troubling and absolutely vital book” (Mark Joseph Stern, Slate). In this provocative book, Mary Anne Franks examines the thin line between constitutional fidelity and constitutional fundamentalism. The Cult of the Constitution reveals how deep fundamentalist strains in both conservative and liberal American thought keep the Constitution in the service of white male supremacy. Franks demonstrates how constitutional fundamentalists read the Constitution selectively and self-servingly, thus undermining the integrity of the document as a whole. She goes on to argue that economic and civil libertarianism have merged to produce a deregulatory, “free-market” approach to constitutional rights that achieves fullest expression in the idealization of the Internet. The fetishization of the first and second amendments has blurred the boundaries between conduct and speech and between veneration and violence. But the Constitution itself contains the antidote to fundamentalism. The Cult of the Constitution lays bare the dark, antidemocratic consequences of constitutional fundamentalism and urges readers to take the Constitution seriously, not selectively.

Politics and the Constitution in the History of the United States

Politics and the Constitution in the History of the United States
Author: William W. Crosskey
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 722
Release: 1953
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780226121345

When the first two volumes of William Crosskey's monumental study of the Constitution appeared in 1953, Arthur M. Schlesinger called it "perhaps the most fertile commentary on that document since The Federalist papers." It was highly controversial as well. The work was a comprehensive reassessment of the meaning of the Constitution, based on examination of eighteenth-century usages of key political and legal concepts and terms. Crosskey's basic thesis was that the Founding Fathers truly intended a government with plenary, nationwide powers, and not, as in the received views, a limited federalism. This third volume of Politics and the Constitution, which Crosskey began and William Jeffrey has finished, treats political activity in the period 1776-87, and is in many ways the heart of the work as Crosskey conceived it. In support of the lexicographic analysis of volumes 1 and 2, volume 3 shows that nationalist ideas and sentiments were a powerful force in American public opinion from the Revolution to the eve of the Constitutional Convention. The creation of a generally empowered national government in Philadelphia, it is argued, was the fruition of a long-active political movement, not the unintended or accidental result of a temporary conservative coalition. This view of the political background of the Constitutional Convention directly challenges the Madisonian-Jeffersonian orthodoxy on the subject. In support of his interpretation, Crosskey amassed a wealth of primary source materials, including heretofore unexplored pamphlets and newspapers. This exhaustive research makes this unique work invaluable for scholars of the period, both for the primary sources collected as well as for the provocative interpretation offered.

Constitutional Construction

Constitutional Construction
Author: Keith E. Whittington
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2009-06-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0674045157

This book argues that the Constitution has a dual nature. The first aspect, on which legal scholars have focused, is the degree to which the Constitution acts as a binding set of rules that can be neutrally interpreted and externally enforced by the courts against government actors. This is the process of constitutional interpretation. But according to Keith Whittington, the Constitution also permeates politics itself, to guide and constrain political actors in the very process of making public policy. In so doing, it is also dependent on political actors, both to formulate authoritative constitutional requirements and to enforce those fundamental settlements in the future. Whittington characterizes this process, by which constitutional meaning is shaped within politics at the same time that politics is shaped by the Constitution, as one of construction as opposed to interpretation. Whittington goes on to argue that ambiguities in the constitutional text and changes in the political situation push political actors to construct their own constitutional understanding. The construction of constitutional meaning is a necessary part of the political process and a regular part of our nation's history, how a democracy lives with a written constitution. The Constitution both binds and empowers government officials. Whittington develops his argument through intensive analysis of four important cases: the impeachments of Justice Samuel Chase and President Andrew Johnson, the nullification crisis, and reforms of presidential-congressional relations during the Nixon presidency.

The Constitution as Social Design

The Constitution as Social Design
Author: Gretchen Ritter
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2006
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780804754385

This book focuses on gender and civic membership in American constitutional politics from the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment through Second Wave Feminism. It examines how American civic membership is gendered, and how the terms of civic membership available to men and women shape their political identities, aspirations, and behavior. The book also explores the dynamics of American constitutional development through a focus on civic membership--a legal and political construct at the heart of the constitutional order. This is a book about gender politics and constitutional development, and about what each of these can tell us about the other. It considers the options and choices faced by women’s rights activists in the United States as they voiced their claims for civic inclusion from Reconstruction through Second Wave Feminism, and it makes evident the limits of liberal citizenship for women.

The Government's Speech and the Constitution

The Government's Speech and the Constitution
Author: Helen Norton
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2019-08-22
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1108417728

Identifies and explains the constitutional problems triggered by the government's speech, and proposes a new framework for thinking about them.

Georgia's Constitution and Government, 10th Edition

Georgia's Constitution and Government, 10th Edition
Author: J. Benjamin Taylor
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Total Pages: 114
Release: 2024-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 082036746X

By state law, graduates of public colleges and universities in Georgia must demonstrate proficiency with both the U.S. and Georgia constitutions. This widely used textbook helps students satisfy that requirement, either in courses or by examination. This brief and affordable study aid begins with a discussion of the ways that state and local governments, in providing services and allocating funds, affect our daily lives. Subsequent chapters are devoted to - the development of our federal system and the importance of constitutions in establishing authority, distributing power, and formalizing procedures - how the various state constitutions differ from each other, even as they all complement the U.S. Constitution - how constitutions in Georgia have been amended or replaced - Georgia’s governmental institutions at the state, county, and city levels - elections in Georgia, including the basic ground rules for holding primaries, general elections, and runoffs Key terms and concepts are covered throughout the book, as well as important court cases at the national and state level. In addition, helpful lists, diagrams, and tables summarize and compare such information as: - the structure of Georgia’s court system - the number of constitutions each of the fifty states has had, the number of times each state’s constitution has - been amended, and the length of each state’s current constitution - various procedures used by the states to amend their constitutions - Georgia’s ten constitutions, with highlights of their major changes or features - the number of amendments voted on in Georgia from 1984 to 2012 - the executive branch officials elected by the public across states - the constitutional boards and commissions in Georgia, with details on the methods by which members are chosen - the number and types of local governments in Georgia since 1952, including counties, municipalities, school districts, and special districts - the major federal cases in which Georgia has been a party, on issues of discrimination, representation, freedom of speech and the press, the accused or convicted of crimes, and the right to privacy - rights and liberties, and how constitutions guarantee and protect them

Money, Politics, and the Constitution

Money, Politics, and the Constitution
Author: Monica Youn
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780870785214

"A brilliant collection of essays on one of the most important contemporary constitutional issues: when can and should the government be able to regulate campaign spending? Each essay offers original insights, and together they are a superb examination of the intersection of politics and constitutional law. If there is to be a new jurisprudence in this area, this book is likely its foundation."--Erwin Chemerinsky, founding dean, School of Law, University of California-Irvine In the U.S. Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, five justices ruled that corporations and unions had a constitutional right to spend unlimited sums in elections. In so doing, they overturned decades of precedent and dozens of laws. The ruling earned banner headlines, a sharp State of the Union rebuke, and public disapproval hovering near 80 percent in the polls. In the 2010 election that followed, independent spending spiked, much of it done secretly. The decision ranks among the Court's most controversial and consequential. This volume is an attempt to map out the complex labyrinth that led to Citizens United and to explore where this decision may lead. The chapters in it arose from a symposium sponsored by NYU's Brennan Center for Justice just nine weeks after the Citizens United decision was announced.