The University of California law professor explores the Constitutional issues raised by the Civil War, illuminating Lincoln's "legal legacy" in terms of his actions to preserve the union and how he defended those actions within the context of his own era and their ramifications in terms of such mode

The Civil War brought pressure on the Constitution that had never been seen before and hasn't been seen since, testing it in much the same way as an engineer tests his materials to destruction to assess their structure. Did the South have the right to secede? Did Abraham Lincoln trample on the Bill of Rights? Can the president go to war without congressional approval? What is t...(展开全部)

The Civil War brought pressure on the Constitution that had never been seen before and hasn't been seen since, testing it in much the same way as an engineer tests his materials to destruction to assess their structure. Did the South have the right to secede? Did Abraham Lincoln trample on the Bill of Rights? Can the president go to war without congressional approval? What is t...(展开全部)

The University of California law professor explores the Constitutional issues raised by the Civil War, illuminating Lincoln's "legal legacy" in terms of his actions to preserve the union and how he defended those actions within the context of his own era and their ramifications in terms of such mode

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once remarked that the theory of an evolving, "living" Constitution effectively "rendered the Constitution useless." He wanted a "dead Constitution," he joked, arguing it must be interpreted as the framers originally understood it. In The Living Constitution, leading constitutional scholar David Strauss forcefully argues against the claims o...(展开全部)

Constitutional law is clearly shaped by judicial actors. But who else contributes? Scholars in the past have recognized that the legislative branch plays a significant role in determining structural issues, such as separation of powers and federalism, but stopped there - claiming that only courts had the independence and expertise to safeguard individual and minority rights. In...(展开全部)

In this fascinating debunking of judicial supremacy, Devins and Fisher argue that nonjudicial contributions to constitutional interpretation make the Constitution more stable, more consistent with constitutional principles, and more protective of individual and minority rights. This highly readable narrative of how the Court and elected officials work in concert with the Americ...(展开全部)

As everyone knows, the United States Constitution is a tangible, visible document. Many see it in fact as a sacred text, holding no meaning other than that which is clearly visible on the page. Yet as renowned legal scholar Laurence Tribe shows, what is not written in the Constitution plays a key role in its interpretation. Indeed some of the most contentious Constitutional deb...(展开全部)

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once remarked that the theory of an evolving, "living" Constitution effectively "rendered the Constitution useless." He wanted a "dead Constitution," he joked, arguing it must be interpreted as the framers originally understood it. In The Living Constitution, leading constitutional scholar David Strauss forcefully argues against the claims o...(展开全部)

Probably written by a student of Aristotle, The Athenian Constitution is both a history and an analysis of Athens' political machinery between the seventh and fourth centuries BC, which stands as a model of democracy at a time when city-states lived under differing kinds of government. The writer recounts the major reforms of Solon, the rule of the tyrant Pisistratus and his so...(展开全部)