The Blessings of Liberty

A Concise History of the Constitution of the United States

By (author) Michael Les Benedict

Publication date:

30 September 2016

Length of book:

574 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442259911

This concise, accessible text provides students with a history of American constitutional development in the context of political, economic, and social change. Constitutional historian Michael Benedict stresses the role that the American people have played over time in defining the powers of government and the rights of individuals and minorities. He covers important trends and events in U.S. constitutional history, encompassing key Supreme Court and lower-court cases. The volume begins by discussing the English and colonial origins of American constitutionalism. Following an analysis of the American Revolution's meaning to constitutional history, the text traces the Constitution's evolution from the Early Republic to the present day. This third edition is updated to include the election of 2000, the Tea Party and the rise of popular constitutionalism, and the rise of judicial supremacy as seen in cases such as Citizens United, the Affordable Care Act, and gay marriage.

Preface
Introduction:The American Constitution and American Constitutional History

English Origins of American Constitutionalism
Colonial Origins of American Constitutionalism
The American Revolution
Establishing New State and Federal Constitutions
Constitutional Issues in the Early Republic
Judicial Review, Nationalism, and State Sovereignty
Andrew Jackson, Democracy, and “State Rights”
Slavery and the Constitution
The Constitution and the Civil War
Reconstruction and the Constitution
The Industrial State, Victorian Moralism, Laissez-Faire Constitutionalism, and State Rights
The Progressive Era
Liberal versus Conservative Constitutionalism in the 1920s
The New Deal and the Constitution
Liberal Constitutionalism
Liberal Constitutionalism and Equality
Curbing Presidential Power
The Revival of Conservative Constitutionalism
The Supreme Court and Conservative Constitutionalism
The Erosion of Constitutional Comity
The Conservative Court, the Constitution and Judicial Supremacy
Presidentialism and the Security State
Constitution Wars

Appendix A Articles of Confederation
Appendix B Constitution of the United States
Appendix C Justices of the United States Supreme Court
Appendix D Tables of Cases
Index

"The third edition of Michael Les Benedict’s The Blessings of Liberty is a treasure. Clearly written and easy to understand, the text takes us from the English roots of American constitutionalism to 2016. Taking the approach of the modern constitutional historian, Benedict plunges us into the controversies relevant to the formation and implementation of the Constitution of 1787 and its amendments, providing the necessary political, social, and economic context that accompanied the development of American constitutional law. I wish there were more undergraduate courses in constitutional history, so that more students could read this book. But we could all benefit by reading it."