These essays offer new interpretations of the origins of American federalism and the meaning of liberty in American political culture.
Peter S. Onuf's introduction examines the historiography of the Constitution--the ways in which distinct schools of historians have interpreted the formation of the federal system. He explains how the essays contribute to this scholarly debate and notes that the present-day concern with "original intent" is a misleading approach to the Constitution. Rather than trying to achieve miraculous solutions to deep-seated social and political problems, the...