Constitutional politics : essays on constitution making, maintenance, and change / edited by Sotirios A. Barber and Robert P. George.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Barber, Sotirios A.

George, Robert P.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Constitutional history--United States.

Constitutional history.

United States.

United States--Politics and government.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

337 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, [2001]

Summary:

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.

Contents:

1. Alternative Political Systems / Walter F. Murphy 9

2. The Civic Constitution: Some Preliminaries / John E. Finn 41

3. Judicial Supremacy and Constitutional Distortion / Christopher L. Eisgruber 70

4. We the Exceptional American People / James E. Fleming 91

5. Constitution and Revolution / Jeffrey K. Tulis 116

6. What Did They Think They Were Doing When They Wrote the U.S. Constitution, and Why Should We Care? / Suzette Hemberger 128

7. Notes on Constitutional Maintenance / Sotirios A. Barber 162

8. Transformative Constitutionalism and the Case of Religion: Defending the Moderate Hegemony of Liberalism / Stephen Macedo 167

9. Promoting Diversity in the Public Schools (Or, to What Extent Does the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment Hinder the Establishment of More Genuinely Multicultural Schools?) / Sanford Levinson 193

10. Second Thoughts on the First Amendment / H. N. Hirsch 223

11. Constitutional Citizenship / Wayne D. Moore 238

12. The Political Foundations of Judicial Supremacy / Keith E. Whittington 261

13. Constitutionalism and Constitutional Failure / Mark E. Brandon 298

14. Justice, Legitimacy, and Allegiance: "The End of Democracy?" Symposium Revisited / Robert P. George 314.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0691088683

0691088691

OCLC:

47255230