The revolutionary constitution /

"The framers of the Constitution chose their words carefully when they wrote of a more perfect union--not absolutely perfect, but with room for improvement. Indeed, we no longer operate under the same Constitution as that ratified in 1788, or even the one completed by the Bill of Rights in 1791...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Bodenhamer, David J
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, USA, 2012
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001 730413885
003 OCoLC
005 20111212092202.0
008 110725s2012 enk 000 0 eng
010 |a 2011031493 
020 |a 9780195378337 (hardback) 
020 |a 0195378334 (hardback) 
040 |a DLC  |c DLC  |d BTCTA 
042 |a pcc 
043 |a n-us--- 
049 |a VLAM 
050 0 0 |a KF4541  |b .B63 2012 
100 1 |a Bodenhamer, David J 
245 1 4 |a The revolutionary constitution /  |c David J. Bodenhamer 
260 |a Oxford ;  |a New York :  |b Oxford University Press, USA,  |c 2012 
300 |a 281 p.  |c 24 cm. 
505 8 |a Machine generated contents note: -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: Antecedents -- Chapter 2: Revolution -- Chapter 3: Mechanics -- Chapter 4: Federalism -- Chapter 5: Balance -- Chapter 6: Property -- Chapter 7: Representation -- Chapter 8: Equality -- Chapter 9: Rights -- Chapter 10: Security -- Further Reading -- Index 
520 |a "The framers of the Constitution chose their words carefully when they wrote of a more perfect union--not absolutely perfect, but with room for improvement. Indeed, we no longer operate under the same Constitution as that ratified in 1788, or even the one completed by the Bill of Rights in 1791--because we are no longer the same nation. In The Revolutionary Constitution, David J. Bodenhamer provides a comprehensive new look at America's basic law, integrating the latest legal scholarship with historical context to highlight how it has evolved over time. The Constitution, he notes, was the product of the first modern revolution, and revolutions are, by definition, moments when the past shifts toward an unfamiliar future, one radically different from what was foreseen only a brief time earlier. In seeking to balance power and liberty, the framers established a structure that would allow future generations to continually readjust the scale. Bodenhamer explores this dynamic through seven major constitutional themes: federalism, balance of powers, property, representation, equality, rights, and security. With each, he takes a historical approach, following their changes over time. For example, the framers wrote multiple protections for property rights into the Constitution in response to actions by state governments after the Revolution. But twentieth-century courts--and Congress--redefined property rights through measures such as zoning and the designation of historical landmarks (diminishing their commercial value) in response to the needs of a modern economy. The framers anticipated just such a future reworking of their own compromises between liberty and power. With up-to-the-minute legal expertise and a broad grasp of the social and political context, this book is a tour de force of Constitutional history and analysis"--  |c Provided by publisher 
520 |a "In The Revolutionary Constitution, David J. Bodenhamer provides a comprehensive new look at America's basic law, integrating the latest legal scholarship with historical context to highlight how it has evolved over time. The Constitution, he notes, was the product of the first modern revolution, and revolutions are, by definition, moments when the past shifts toward an unfamiliar future, one radically different from what was foreseen only a brief time earlier. In seeking to balance power and liberty, the framers established a structure that would allow future generations to continually readjust the scale. Bodenhamer explores this dynamic through seven major constitutional themes: federalism, balance of powers, property, representation, equality, rights, and security. With each, he takes a historical approach, following their changes over time. For example, the framers wrote multiple protections for property rights into the Constitution in response to actions by state governments after the Revolution. But twentieth-century courts--and Congress--redefined property rights through measures such as zoning and the designation of historical landmarks (diminishing their commercial value) in response to the needs of a modern economy. The framers anticipated just such a future reworking of their own compromises between liberty and power"--  |c Provided by publisher 
650 0 |a Constitutional history  |z United States 
650 0 |a Constitutional law  |z United States 
651 0 |a United States  |x Politics and government 
907 |a .b2152940 
998 |a secnd 
999 |c 99934 
852 |a Law Library  |b Second Floor  |h KF4541 .B63 2012  |p 33940004124994