000			03511cam a22002534a 4500
001			014953
005			20231009192221.0
008			041208s2005 nyua b 001 0 eng
010			_a2004061464
020			_a9781400062621
042			_apcc
050	0	0	_aKF4541 _b.A87 2005
082	0	0	_a342.73 AMA
100	1		_aAmar, Akhil Reed
245	1	0	_aAmerica's Constitution _b: a biography _c/ Akhil Reed Amar
250			_a1st edition
260			_aNew York _b: Random House _c, c2005.
300			_axii, 657 p. _b: ill. _c; 25 cm.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
505	0	0	_aIn the beginning -- New rules for a new world -- Congressional powers -- America's first officer -- Presidential powers -- Judges and juries -- States and territories -- The law of the land -- Making amends -- A new birth of freedom -- Progressive reforms -- Modern moves.
520			_aInAmerica's Constitution, one of this era's most accomplished constitutional law scholars, Akhil Reed Amar, gives the first comprehensive account of one of the world's great political texts. Incisive, entertaining, and occasionally controversial, this biography of America's framing document explains not only what the Constitution says but also why the Constitution says it. We all know this much: the Constitution is neither immutable nor perfect. Amar shows us how the story of this one relatively compact document reflects the story of America more generally. (For example, much of the Constitution, including the glorious-sounding We the People, was lifted from existing American legal texts, including early state constitutions.) In short, the Constitution was as much a product of its environment as it was a product of its individual creators' inspired genius. Despite the Constitution's flaws, its role in guiding our republic has been nothing short of amazing. Skillfully placing the document in the context of late-eighteenth-century American politics, America's Constitution explains, for instance, whether there is anything in the Constitution that is unamendable; the reason America adopted an electoral college; why a president must be at least thirty-five years old; and why for now, at least only those citizens who were born under the American flag can become president. From his unique perspective, Amar also gives us unconventional wisdom about the Constitution and its significance throughout the nation's history. For one thing, we see that the Constitution has been far more democratic than is conventionally understood. Even though the document was drafted by white landholders, a remarkably large number of citizens (by the standards of 1787) were allowed to vote up or down on it, and the document's later amendments eventually extended the vote to virtually all Americans. We also learn that the Founders' Constitution was far more slavocratic than many would acknowledge: the three fifths clause gave the South extra political clout for every slave it owned or acquired. As a result, slaveholding Virginians held the presidency all but four of the Republic's first thirty-six years, and proslavery forces eventually came to dominate much of the federal government prior to Lincoln's election. Ambitious, even-handed, eminently accessible, and often surprising, America's Constitutionis an indispensable work, bound to become a standard reference for any student of history and all citizens of the United States.
650		0	_aConstitutional history _x--United States
942			_cMO
999			_c233092 _d233092