Encyclopedia of the American Constitution

Leonard W. Levy

Kenneth L. Karst

Dennis J. Mahoney

Reference

Collier/Macmillan

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

Macmillan Library Reference

Essays on the Making of the Constitution

History

Americas

Oxford University Press, USA

Americans resorted to arms in 1775 not to establish new liberties but to defend old ones, explains constitutional historian Leonard W. Levy in this fascinating history of the origins of the Bill of Rights. Unencumbered by a rigid class system, an arbitrary government, or a single established church squelching dissent, colonial Americans understood freedom in a far more comprehensive and liberal way than the English, Levy shows. He offers here a panoramic view of the liberties secured by the first ten amendments to the Constitution―a penetrating analysis of the background of the Bill of Rights the meanings of each provision of the amendments. In colonial America, political theory, law, and religion all taught that government was limited. Yet the framing and ratification of the Bill of Rights―in effect a bill of restraints upon the national government―was by no means assured. Levy illuminates the behind-the-scenes maneuverings, public rhetoric, and political motivations that led to each provision. The omission of a bill of rights in the original constitution presented the most serious obstacle to its adoption, despite Federalist claims that a bill of rights was unnecessary. Opponents of the Constitution claimed that inclusion of only some liberties―such as the right to habeas corpus and freedom from ex post facto laws―meant that all other liberties would be lost. But, Levy demonstrates, the people of the United States, aided by a persistent James Madison and by traditions of freedom, had the good sense to support both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Origins of the Bill of Rights (Yale Contemporary Law Series)

Constitutional Law

Yale University Press

The Fourteenth Amendment And The Bill Of Rights: The Incorporation Theory (American Constitutional and Legal History Series)

Stanley Morrison

Charles Fairman

Da Capo Press

Through a critical study of Shaw's opinions, Levy sheds light on how his peers perceived rights, duties, and liabilities, the roles of government, and the nature of law itself. Overall, the opinions of Justice Shaw illuminate how liberty and order were comparatively valued, which interests were deemed important enough to secure in legal moorings, and where the points of social tension, growth, and power were rooted.

Law of the Commonwealth and Chief Justice Shaw

Kelley, USA

Rejecting the views of both left and right, Mr. Levy evaluates the doctrine of original intent by examining the sources of constitutional law and landmark cases. Merciless and brilliant. In fascinating detail. . . Mr. Levy demonstrates that there can be no such animal [as original intent]. Anthony Lewis, New York Times Book Review

Original Intent and the Framer's Constitution

Ivan R. Dee

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Books by Leonard W. Levy