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Now in its fourth edition and completely updated, this is the most comprehensive book on constitutional amendments and proposed amendments available. • Provides clear explanations of each of the 27 constitutional amendments that have been adopted throughout U.S. history as well as essays on the subjects of the thousands of other proposals that have been made • Articulates important issues involving the constitutional amending process • Outlines key proposals for more radical changes to the U.S. Constitution that have been introduced outside of Congress

Presents a clause-by-clause interpreation of the Constitution and its Amendments by the Supreme Court from 1789 to 2009.

This book examines the U.S. Constitution by focusing on its origins in Western political thought and its organization and subsequent amendments. It describes the document as a series of choices among alternative governmental institutions that are designed to provide national security and secure ordered liberty.

The new edition of this comprehensive, two-volume reference has been thoroughly revised and expanded by expert CQ Press writers—with years of experience covering Congress—to offer a complete institutional history of Congress along with updated insight and analysis on the 2008 and 2010 shifts in power of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

The Second Edition of this renowned treasure trove of information about the most important laws and treaties enacted by the U.S. Congress now deepens its historical coverage and examines an entire decade of new legislation. Landmark Legislation 1774-2012 includes additional acts and treaties chosen for their historical significance or their precedential importance for later areas of major federal legislative activity in the over 200 years since the convocation of the Continental Congress. Brand new chapters expand coverage to include the last five numbered Congresses (10 years of activity from 2003-2012), which has seen landmark legislation in the areas of health insurance and health care reform; financial regulatory reform; fiscal stimulus and the Temporary Asset Relief Program; federal support for stem cell research; reform of federal financial support for public schools and higher education; and much more. Features & Benefits: Each chapter covers one of the numbered Congresses with a historical essay, followed by the major acts of that Congress arranged in chronological order of passage – with each act summarized. A Finder’s Guide summarizes all of the acts and treaties...

This book is the most comprehensive review of all the major proposals to rewrite, revise, or even replace the U.S. Constitution, covering more than 170 proposals from the nation's beginnings to the present day. • Discusses more than 170 proposed major alterations in—or alternatives to—the U.S. Constitution, from the beginning of the republic to the present • Includes proposals from nearly every political group imaginable, including advocates of parliamentary democracy, communists, Democrats, Libertarians, Progressives, Republicans, socialists, and Tea Party members • Presents the major plans that preceded or were considered in the writing of the U.S. Constitution • Provides biographical information of individuals who made proposals to alter or replace the Constitution • Includes appendixes containing the full text of the U.S. Constitution and all 27 amendments to the Constitution

Covering the key concepts, events, laws and legal doctrines, court decisions, and litigators and litigants, this new reference on the law of search and seizure—in the physical as well as the online world—provides a unique overview for individuals seeking to understand the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. More than 900 A to Z entries cover the key issues that surround this essential component of the Bill of Rights and the linchpin of a right to privacy. This two-volume reference—from the editors of CQ Press’s award-winning Encyclopedia of the First Amendment—features a series of essays that examine the historical background of the Fourth Amendment along with its key facets relating to: Technology Privacy Terrorism Warrant requirement Congress States A to Z entries include cross-references and bibliographic entries. This work also features both alphabetical and topical tables of contents as well as a comprehensive subject index and a case index.At a time when threats of crime and terrorism have resulted in increased governmental surveillance into personal lives, this work will serve as an important asset for researchers seeking information on the history and...

In a fascinating blend of biography and history, Joseph Tartakovsky tells the epic and unexpected story of our Constitution through the eyes of ten extraordinary individuals—some renowned, like Alexander Hamilton and Woodrow Wilson, and some forgotten, like James Wilson and Ida B. Wells-Barnett. Tartakovsky brings to life their struggles over our supreme law from its origins in revolutionary America to the era of Obama and Trump. Sweeping from settings as diverse as Gold Rush California to the halls of Congress, and crowded with a vivid Dickensian cast, Tartakovsky shows how America’s unique constitutional culture grapples with questions like democracy, racial and sexual equality, free speech, economic liberty, and the role of government. Joining the ranks of other great American storytellers, Tartakovsky chronicles how Daniel Webster sought to avert the Civil War; how Alexis de Tocqueville misunderstood America; how Robert Jackson balanced liberty and order in the battle against Nazism and Communism; and how Antonin Scalia died warning Americans about the ever-growing reach of the Supreme Court. From the 1787 Philadelphia Convention to the clash over gay marriage, this is a...

This volume provides a holistic presentation of the reality of constitutional change in 18 countries (the 15 old EU member states, Canada, Switzerland and the USA). The essays offer analysis on formal and informal constitutional amendment bringing forth the overall picture of the parallel paths constitutional change follows, in correlation to what the constitution means and how constitutional law works. To capture the patterns of constitutional change, multi-faceted parameters are explored such as the interrelations between form of government, party system, and constitutional amendment; the interplay between constitutional change and the system of constitutionality review; the role of the people, civil society, and experts in constitutional change; and the influence of international and European law and jurisprudence on constitutional reform and evolution. In the extensive final, comparative chapter, key features of each country's amendment procedures are epitomized and the mechanisms of constitutional change are explained on the basis of introducing five distinct models of constitutional change. The concept of constitutional rigidity is re-approached and broken down to a set of...

Celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, Robert McCloskey’s classic work on the Supreme Court’s role in constructing the U.S. Constitution has introduced generations of students to the workings of our nation’s highest court. For this new fifth edition, Sanford Levinson extends McCloskey’s magisterial treatment to address the Court’s most recent decisions. As in prior editions, McCloskey’s original text remains unchanged. In his historical interpretation, he argues that the strength of the Court has always been its sensitivity to the changing political scene, as well as its reluctance to stray too far from the main currents of public sentiments. In two revised chapters, Levinson shows how McCloskey’s approach continues to illuminate developments since 2005, including the Court’s decisions in cases arising out of the War on Terror, which range from issues of civil liberty to tests of executive power. He also discusses the Court’s skepticism regarding campaign finance regulation; its affirmation of the right to bear arms; and the increasingly important nomination and confirmation process of Supreme Court justices, including that of the first Hispanic justice, Sonia...

While scholars increasingly recognize the importance of religion throughout American history, The Bible in American Law and Politics is the first reference book to focus on the key role that the Bible has played in American public life. In considering revolting from Great Britain, Americans contemplated whether this was consistent with scripture. Americans subsequently sought to apply Biblical passages to such issues as slavery, women's rights, national alcoholic prohibition, issues of war and peace, and the like. American presidents continue to take their oath on the Bible. Some of America's greatest speeches, for example, Lincoln's Second Inaugural and William Jennings Bryan's Cross of Gold speech, have been grounded on Biblical texts or analogies. Today, Americans continue to cite the Bible for positions as diverse as LGBTQ rights, abortion, immigration, welfare, health care, and other contemporary issues. By providing essays on key speeches, books, documents, legal decisions, and other writings throughout American history that have sought to buttress arguments through citations to Scriptures or to Biblical figures, John Vile provides an indispensable guide for scholars and...

One of the most contentious issues in America today is the status of immigration. American Immigration and Citizenship shows that this issue is far from new. In this book, John Vile provides context for contemporary debates on the topic through key historical documents presented alongside essays that interpret their importance for the reader.

Two centuries ago, Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte was one of the most famous women in America. Beautiful, scandalous, and outspoken, she had wed Napoleon's brother Jerome, borne his child, and seen the marriage annulled by the emperor himself. With her notorious behavior, dashing husband, and associations with European royalty, Elizabeth became one of America's first celebrities during a crucial moment in the nation's history. At the time of Elizabeth's fame, the United States had only recently gained its independence, and the character of American society and politics was not yet fully formed. Still concerned that their republican experiment might fail and that their society might become too much like that of monarchical Europe, many Americans feared the corrupting influence of European manners and ideas. Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte's imperial connections and aristocratic aspirations made her a central figure in these debates, with many, including members of Congress and the social elites of the day, regarding her as a threat. Appraising Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte's many identities—celebrity, aristocrat, independent woman, mother—Charlene M. Boyer Lewis shows how Madame...

Old World, New World: America and Europe in the Age of Jefferson grew out of workshops in Salzburg and Charlottesville sponsored by Monticello’s International Center for Jefferson Studies, and revisits a question of long-standing interest to American historians: the nature of the relationship between America and Europe during the Age of Revolution. Study of the American-European relationship in recent years has been moved forward by the notion of Atlantic history and the study of the Atlantic world. The present volume makes a fresh contribution by refocusing attention on the question of the interdependence of Europe and America. Old World, New World addresses topics that are timely, given contemporary public events, but that are also of interest to early modern and modern historians. By turning attention from the Atlantic World in general to the relationship between America and Europe, as well as using Thomas Jefferson as a lens to examine this relationship, this book carves out its own niche in the history of the Atlantic world in the age of revolution.

The four-volume set covers more than 130 iconic primary source documents from the Revolutionary era to the present day. Each entry offers the full text of the document in question as well as an in-depth, analytical essay that places the document in its historical context. Among the documents included in the set are Revolutionary era standards such as Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" speech, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. Important presidential sources include Thomas Jefferson's first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Franklin Roosevelt's speech following the attack on Pearl Harbor, John F. Kennedy's 1963 address on integration, and George W. Bush's address on September 11, 2001. Influential decisions of the Supreme Court are also included, from Marbury v. Madison to Brown v. Board of Education to Bush v. Gore. Critical documents related to minority rights are also present: Andrew Jackson's message "On Indian Removal, " the Seneca Falls Declaration, Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech, " and the Equal Rights Amendment.--Publisher's website