The Resource America's constitution : a biography, Akhil Reed Amar
America's constitution : a biography, Akhil Reed Amar
Resource Information
The item America's constitution : a biography, Akhil Reed Amar represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Wilmington Memorial Library.This item is available to borrow from 1 library branch.
Resource Information
The item America's constitution : a biography, Akhil Reed Amar represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Wilmington Memorial Library.
This item is available to borrow from 1 library branch.
- Summary
- A Yale Law School professor offers a thought-provoking analysis of the history and tenets of the U.S. Constitution, detailing the original intent of the creators of the document, answering questions about the text, and critically assessing the evolution of the Bill of Rights and all other amendments. In America's Constitution, one of this era's most accomplished constitutional law scholars, Akhil Reed Amar, gives the first comprehensive account of one of the world's great political texts. Incisive, entertaining, and occasionally controversial, this "biography" of America's framing document explains not only what the Constitution says but also why the Constitution says it. We all know this much: the Constitution is neither immutable nor perfect. Amar shows us how the story of this one relatively compact document reflects the story of America more generally. (For example, much of the Constitution, including the glorious-sounding "We the People, " was lifted from existing American legal texts, including early state constitutions.) In short, the Constitution was as much a product of its environment as it was a product of its individual creators' inspired genius. Despite the Constitution's flaws, its role in guiding our republic has been nothing short of amazing. Skillfully placing the document in the context of late-eighteenth-century American politics, America's Constitution explains, for instance, whether there is anything in the Constitution that is unamendable; the reason America adopted an electoral college; why a president must be at least thirty-five years old; and why-for now, at least-only those citizens who were born under the American flag can become president. From his unique perspective, Amar also gives us unconventional wisdom about the Constitution and its significance throughout the nation's history. For one thing, we see that the Constitution has been far more democratic than is conventionally understood. Even though the document was drafted by white landholders, a remarkably large number of citizens (by the standards of 1787) were allowed to vote up or down on it, and the document's later amendments eventually extended the vote to virtually all Americans. We also learn that the Founders' Constitution was far more slavocratic than many would acknowledge: the "three fifths" clause gave the South extra political clout for every slave it owned or acquired. As a result, slaveholding Virginians held the presidency all but four of the Republic's first thirty-six years, and proslavery forces eventually came to dominate much of the federal government prior to Lincoln's election. Ambitious, even-handed, eminently accessible, and often surprising, America's Constitution is an indispensable work, bound to become a standard reference for any student of history and all citizens of the United States
- Language
- eng
- Edition
- Random House trade pbk. edition
- Extent
- xii, 657 pages
- Contents
-
- In the beginning
- New rules for a new world
- Congressional powers
- America's first officer
- Presidential powers
- Judges and juries
- States and territories
- The law of the land
- Making amends
- A new birth of freedom
- Progressive reforms
- Modern moves
- Isbn
- 9780812972726
- Label
- America's constitution : a biography
- Title
- America's constitution
- Title remainder
- a biography
- Statement of responsibility
- Akhil Reed Amar
- Language
- eng
- Summary
- A Yale Law School professor offers a thought-provoking analysis of the history and tenets of the U.S. Constitution, detailing the original intent of the creators of the document, answering questions about the text, and critically assessing the evolution of the Bill of Rights and all other amendments. In America's Constitution, one of this era's most accomplished constitutional law scholars, Akhil Reed Amar, gives the first comprehensive account of one of the world's great political texts. Incisive, entertaining, and occasionally controversial, this "biography" of America's framing document explains not only what the Constitution says but also why the Constitution says it. We all know this much: the Constitution is neither immutable nor perfect. Amar shows us how the story of this one relatively compact document reflects the story of America more generally. (For example, much of the Constitution, including the glorious-sounding "We the People, " was lifted from existing American legal texts, including early state constitutions.) In short, the Constitution was as much a product of its environment as it was a product of its individual creators' inspired genius. Despite the Constitution's flaws, its role in guiding our republic has been nothing short of amazing. Skillfully placing the document in the context of late-eighteenth-century American politics, America's Constitution explains, for instance, whether there is anything in the Constitution that is unamendable; the reason America adopted an electoral college; why a president must be at least thirty-five years old; and why-for now, at least-only those citizens who were born under the American flag can become president. From his unique perspective, Amar also gives us unconventional wisdom about the Constitution and its significance throughout the nation's history. For one thing, we see that the Constitution has been far more democratic than is conventionally understood. Even though the document was drafted by white landholders, a remarkably large number of citizens (by the standards of 1787) were allowed to vote up or down on it, and the document's later amendments eventually extended the vote to virtually all Americans. We also learn that the Founders' Constitution was far more slavocratic than many would acknowledge: the "three fifths" clause gave the South extra political clout for every slave it owned or acquired. As a result, slaveholding Virginians held the presidency all but four of the Republic's first thirty-six years, and proslavery forces eventually came to dominate much of the federal government prior to Lincoln's election. Ambitious, even-handed, eminently accessible, and often surprising, America's Constitution is an indispensable work, bound to become a standard reference for any student of history and all citizens of the United States
- Cataloging source
- FVC
- http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
- Amar, Akhil Reed
- Dewey number
- 342.7302/9
- Illustrations
- illustrations
- Index
- index present
- LC call number
- KF4541
- LC item number
- .A87 2006
- Literary form
- non fiction
- Nature of contents
- bibliography
- http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
-
- Constitutional history
- United States
- Label
- America's constitution : a biography, Akhil Reed Amar
- Bibliography note
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Carrier category
- volume
- Carrier category code
-
- nc
- Carrier MARC source
- rdacarrier
- Content category
- text
- Content type code
-
- txt
- Content type MARC source
- rdacontent
- Contents
- In the beginning -- New rules for a new world -- Congressional powers -- America's first officer -- Presidential powers -- Judges and juries -- States and territories -- The law of the land -- Making amends -- A new birth of freedom -- Progressive reforms -- Modern moves
- Control code
- 1184378
- Dimensions
- 25 cm.
- Edition
- Random House trade pbk. edition
- Extent
- xii, 657 pages
- Isbn
- 9780812972726
- Media category
- unmediated
- Media MARC source
- rdamedia
- Media type code
-
- n
- Other physical details
- ill
- System control number
-
- (Sirsi) 1184378
- (OCoLC)71819857
- Label
- America's constitution : a biography, Akhil Reed Amar
- Bibliography note
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Carrier category
- volume
- Carrier category code
-
- nc
- Carrier MARC source
- rdacarrier
- Content category
- text
- Content type code
-
- txt
- Content type MARC source
- rdacontent
- Contents
- In the beginning -- New rules for a new world -- Congressional powers -- America's first officer -- Presidential powers -- Judges and juries -- States and territories -- The law of the land -- Making amends -- A new birth of freedom -- Progressive reforms -- Modern moves
- Control code
- 1184378
- Dimensions
- 25 cm.
- Edition
- Random House trade pbk. edition
- Extent
- xii, 657 pages
- Isbn
- 9780812972726
- Media category
- unmediated
- Media MARC source
- rdamedia
- Media type code
-
- n
- Other physical details
- ill
- System control number
-
- (Sirsi) 1184378
- (OCoLC)71819857
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<div class="citation" vocab="http://schema.org/"><i class="fa fa-external-link-square fa-fw"></i> Data from <span resource="http://link.wilmlibrary.org/portal/Americas-constitution--a-biography-Akhil-Reed/Y6B8uRNiMqY/" typeof="Book http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/Item"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a href="http://link.wilmlibrary.org/portal/Americas-constitution--a-biography-Akhil-Reed/Y6B8uRNiMqY/">America's constitution : a biography, Akhil Reed Amar</a></span> - <span property="potentialAction" typeOf="OrganizeAction"><span property="agent" typeof="LibrarySystem http://library.link/vocab/LibrarySystem" resource="http://link.wilmlibrary.org/"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a property="url" href="http://link.wilmlibrary.org/">Wilmington Memorial Library</a></span></span></span></span></div>
