The reign of law : Marbury v. Madison and the construction of America / Paul W. Kahn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kahn, Paul W., 1952-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jurisprudence--United States.

Jurisprudence.

United States.

Rule of law--United States.

Rule of law.

Law--United States--Philosophy.

Law.

Philosophy.

Political science--United States--Philosophy.

Political science.

Physical Description:

xi, 306 pages ; 24 cm

Other Title:

Marbury v. Madison and the construction of America

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, [1997]

Summary:

This is the first major work to apply to the rule of law the insights of modern cultural theory, ranging from Clifford Geertz to Michel Foucault. Starting from Thomas Paine's observation that "in America, law is king", Paul Kahn asks: What are the elements of our belief in the rule of law? And what are the rhetorical techniques by which the courts maintain this belief? Kahn centers his exploration on the 1803 Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison - still the greatest of our constitutional cases. Kahn shows that Marbury is the judicial response to President Thomas Jefferson's belief that his election represented a Second American Revolution. Kahn uses the confrontation between president and Court to analyze the contrasting ways in which the revolutionary and the legal imaginations understand and give shape to political events. This contest continues today in the conflicting demands we make for a politics that preserves the past yet celebrates popular innovation.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 259-298) and index.

ISBN:

0300066791

OCLC:

35986261