Sources in American Constitutional History

Michael Les Benedict

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Year: 2017
• Edition: 2
• eBook ISBN:
  9798881878481
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

In the second revised and expanded edition of this invaluable reader, Michael Les Benedict draws together the important documents that have shaped and been shaped by the American Constitution from medieval times through the present day. It includes not only the most important Supreme Court decisions, but also key American declarations, resolutions, laws, and platforms. All these documents represent, in a sense, the formal expression of the American people's ongoing contract with each other.

The documents in the reader are organized into chapters corresponding to those in the third edition of The Blessings of Liberty: A Concise History of the Constitution of the United States. However, since they reflect the generally accepted canon of American constitutional history, they may supplement any textbook or other readings. The brief introductory headnotes provide information about the social, political, and intellectual context in which each document first appeared.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• Chapter 1. English Origins of American Constitutionalism
• Chapter 2. Colonial Origins of American Constitutionalism
• Chapter 3. The American Revolution
• Chapter 4. Establishing New State and Federal Constitutions
• Chapter 5. Constitutional Issues in the Early Republic
• Chapter 6. Judicial Review, Nationalism, and State Sovereignty
• Chapter 7. Jacksonian Democracy and State Rights
• Chapter 8. Slavery and the Constitution
• Chapter 9. The Constitution and the Civil War
• Chapter 10. Reconstruction and the Constitution
• Chapter 11. The Industrial State, Laissez-Faire Constitutionalism, and State Rights
• Chapter 12. The Progressive Era
• Chapter 13. Conservative Constitutionalism in the 1920s
• Chapter 14. The New Deal and the Constitution
• Chapter 15. Liberal Constitutionalism
• Chapter 16. Liberal Constitutionalism and Equality
• Chapter 17. Curbing Presidential Power
• Chapter 18. The Revival of Constitutional Conservatism
• Chapter 19. The Supreme Court and Conservative Constitutionalism
• Chapter 20. The Erosion of Constitutional Comity
• Chapter 21. The Conservative Court, the Constitution, and Judicial Supremacy
• Chapter 22. Presidentialism and the Security State
• Chapter 23. Constitution Wars
• Constitution of the United States of America
• Table of Cases
• Table of Statutes, Charters, and Documents of Constitutional Politics
• About the Editor