Full Description
This is the second edition of Professor Tushnet's short critical introduction to the history and current meaning of the United States' Constitution. It is organised around wo themes: first, the US Constitution is old, short, and difficult to amend. Second, the Constitution creates a structure of political opportunities that allows political actors, icluding political parties, to pursue the preferred policy goals even to the point of altering the very structure of politics. Deploying these themes to examine the structure f the national government, federalism, judicial review, and individual rights, the book provides basic information about, and deeper insights into, the way he US constitutional system has developed and what it means today.
Contents
INTRODUCTION
1. AN OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF THE US CONSTITUTION
From the Revolution to the Bill of Rights
The Early National Period
The Crisis over Slavery and the Civil War
The Late Nineteenth Century and the Growth of the Modern State
The New Deal Crisis and the New Constitutional Regime
From the Reagan Revolution to the Present
Conclusion
Further Reading
2. THE CONSTITUTIONAL POLITICS OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Congress: Its Basic Structure and Roles
The American Party System
Political Parties and the Written Constitution
Conduct of Elections
Legislative Districting and Gerrymandering
Candidate Selection and Gerrymandering
Campaign Financing
Constitutional Politics within Congress
Conclusion
Further Reading
3. THE CONSTITUTIONAL POLITICS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
The President as Party Leader
The President's Role in Legislation
The Unitary Executive and the Modern Administrative State
The Unitary Executive in Foreign Affairs
Conclusion
Further Reading
4. THE CONSTITUTIONAL POLITICS OF THE JUDICIAL BRANCH
Judicial Selection
Judicial Review and Judicial Supremacy
Political Constraints on the Jurisdiction of the Federal Courts
Doctrinal Constraints on the Jurisdiction of the Federal Courts
Standing
Conclusion
Further Reading
5. FEDERALISM AND THE REACH OF NATIONAL POWER
State Governments and the US Constitution
The Emergence of (Nearly) Plenary National Power
The So-Called 'Federalism Revolution' of the 1990s and Beyond
Federalism and the Spending Power
Conclusion
Further Reading
6. THE SUBSTANCE OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION
The Starting Point
Pragmatic and Realist Critiques
The New Deal Reconstruction
The Emergence of Modern Liberalism: Autonomy and Accommodation
Lawyers and Rights Litigation: The Development of Support Structures
Political Parties and Social Movements
From Congress to the Courts: The Venues for Rights Protection
The 'Backlash' Thesis
Constitutional Rights in the Twenty-First Century
Further Reading
7. THE PROCESSES OF CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
Formal Amendments
Substance
Constitutional Interpretation as a Mechanism of Constitutional Change
Interpretive Methods: An Introduction
Conclusion
Constitutional Moments and Constitutional Change
Constitutional Moments
Concluding Thoughts
Further Reading
