Who has the final say on the meaning of the Constitution? Most agree that this power lies with the Supreme Court. From high school to law school, students learn that the framers of the Constitution designed the court to be the ultimate arbiter of constitutional issues, a function Chief Justice John Marshall recognized in deciding Marbury v. Madison in 1803. This provocative work challenges American dogma about the Supreme Court's role, showing instead that the founding generation understood judicial power not as a counterweight against popular government, but as a consequence, and indeed a...