The role of the Constitution in American political history is contentious not simply because of battles over meaning. Equally important is precisely who participated in contests over meaning. Was it simply judges, or did legislatures have a strong say? And what about the public's role in effecting constitutional change? In The Civic Constitution, Elizabeth Beaumont focuses on the last category, and traces the efforts of citizens to reinvent constitutional democracy during four crucial eras: the revolutionaries of the 1770s and 1780s; the civic founders of state republics and the national...
The role of the Constitution in American political history is contentious not simply because of battles over meaning. Equally important is precisely w...
The Civic Constitution provides a compelling case for rethinking the U.S. Constitution and its relations to citizens and social movements. By exploring pivotal struggles over governmental power, individual rights, and the boundaries of citizenship, this book challenges reigning approaches and reveals the profound importance of 'civic founders' who worked to reinvent the constitutional order.
The Civic Constitution provides a compelling case for rethinking the U.S. Constitution and its relations to citizens and social movements. By explori...
