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Describes how the Constitution came to be written and ratified. Also includes the full text of the document produced by the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

"From Illinois to Alabama, and from Florida to Utah, our laws and legal debates arise from distinctive local settings within our vast and varied nation. As the renowned scholar Akhil Amar explains, Abraham Lincoln's argument against the legality of succession can be traced to his Midwestern upbringing, just as a close look at the Florida legislature and state Supreme Court reveals the fundamental wrongness of the Bush v. Gore decision. Amar profiles...

"Though the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1788, its impact on our lives is as recent as today's news. Claims and counterclaims about the constitutionality of governmental actions are a habit of American politics. This document, which its framers designed to limit power, often has made political conflict inevitable. It also has accommodated and legitimized the political and social changes of a vibrant, powerful democratic nation. A product of history's...

This book is a history of the Federal Convention in Philadelphia that resulted in the Constitution of the United States. A review of the events and personalities surrounding the Constitutional Convention of 1787 concluding with the debate and the final product.

Describes how the Constitution was drafted and ratified.

Lee tells the dramatic, little-known stories behind six of the Constitution's most indispensable provisions. He shows their rise and fall, and he makes vividly clear how nearly every abuse of federal power today is rooted in neglect of this lost constitution.

"This book deals with important issues of constitutionalism in the American Revolution. It ranges from the imperial debate that led to the Declaration of Independence to the revolutionary state constitution making in 1776 and the creation of the Federal Constitution in 1787. It includes a discussion of slavery and constitutionalism, the emergence of the judiciary as one of the major tripartite institutions of government, and the demarcation between...

Historian Edward J. Larson recovers a crucially important--yet almost always overlooked--chapter of George Washington's life, revealing how Washington saved the United States by coming out of retirement to lead the Constitutional Convention and serve as our first president. After leading the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War, Washington shocked the world: he retired. In December 1783, the most powerful man in the country stepped...

From the leading constitutional lawyer who has sued every president since LBJ, a masterful explication of the "pillars of our democracy" On November 9, 2016, many Americans feared that our democracy was on the verge of collapse. But is it? In an erudite and brilliant evaluation of the current state of our government, noted constitutional scholar Burt Neuborne administers a stress test to democracy and concludes that our unprecedented sets of constitutional...