- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Preface
- Introduction
-
Part One -
I. 1790: Secretary Jefferson and the Foreign Affairs Power -
II. 1791: The National Bank and the Point of Interpretation -
III. 1793: The Supreme Court and the Metaphysics of Sovereignty -
IV. 1794: Kamper v. Hawkins and the Role of the Judiciary -
V. 1798 (1): Justice Paterson and the Missing Fundamental Principle -
Part Two -
VI. 1798 (2): How to Think about the Sedition Act -
VII. 1800: Marshall and the Role of the Political Branches -
VIII. 1802: How Not to Think about the Judiciary Repeal Act -
IX. 1804: Turpin v. Locket and the Place of Religion -
X. 1806: Hudgins v. Wright and the Place of Slavery -
XI. 1808–1809: A Forgotten Crossroads in Constitutional History -
Part Three -
XII. 1817: President Madison Vetoes His Own Bill -
XIII. 1818: The Congress Thinks about Internal Improvements -
XIV. 1821: The Attorney General and the Rule of Law -
XV. 1829: Writing State v. Mann -
Part Four -
XVI. 1859: The Supreme Court and the Metaphysics of Supremacy -
XVII. 1862: Four Attorneys General and the Meaning of Citizenship -
XVIII. 1873: Slaughterhouse Revisited -
XIX. 1904: Clay May, the Railroad, and Justice Holmes -
XX. 1927: Justice Brandeis and the Final End of the State -
XXI. 1944: Constitutional Injustice -
Part Five -
XXII. 2002: Common Ground after Two Centuries - Conclusion
- Index
Introduction
Introduction
The historicist interpretation of American constitutionalism leads to a more modest vision of constitutional law than that of more theoretical accounts. It sees constitutional law as a servant of American political life rather than its master, and denies the sharp line between law and politics that other interpretations sometimes propose. It accords more constitutional significance to the actions of elected officials and sees less that is unique about judicial decisions. If judges accepted it, they would take a somewhat more modest approach to their role in the constitutional order than is customary, at least among justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. If other Americans took it seriously, the historicist account would demand of politicians and citizens alike that they recognize their responsibilities in maintaining a constitutional order that is open to and inclusive of all. In this context, the book examines a series of controversies with a constitutional dimension stretching from 1790, the year after federal government under the Constitution began, to 1944.
Keywords: American constitutionalism, constitutional law, judicial decisions, federal government, historicism, political life
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- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Preface
- Introduction
-
Part One -
I. 1790: Secretary Jefferson and the Foreign Affairs Power -
II. 1791: The National Bank and the Point of Interpretation -
III. 1793: The Supreme Court and the Metaphysics of Sovereignty -
IV. 1794: Kamper v. Hawkins and the Role of the Judiciary -
V. 1798 (1): Justice Paterson and the Missing Fundamental Principle -
Part Two -
VI. 1798 (2): How to Think about the Sedition Act -
VII. 1800: Marshall and the Role of the Political Branches -
VIII. 1802: How Not to Think about the Judiciary Repeal Act -
IX. 1804: Turpin v. Locket and the Place of Religion -
X. 1806: Hudgins v. Wright and the Place of Slavery -
XI. 1808–1809: A Forgotten Crossroads in Constitutional History -
Part Three -
XII. 1817: President Madison Vetoes His Own Bill -
XIII. 1818: The Congress Thinks about Internal Improvements -
XIV. 1821: The Attorney General and the Rule of Law -
XV. 1829: Writing State v. Mann -
Part Four -
XVI. 1859: The Supreme Court and the Metaphysics of Supremacy -
XVII. 1862: Four Attorneys General and the Meaning of Citizenship -
XVIII. 1873: Slaughterhouse Revisited -
XIX. 1904: Clay May, the Railroad, and Justice Holmes -
XX. 1927: Justice Brandeis and the Final End of the State -
XXI. 1944: Constitutional Injustice -
Part Five -
XXII. 2002: Common Ground after Two Centuries - Conclusion
- Index