The Constitutional Amending Process in American Political Thought

The Constitutional Amending Process in American Political Thought PDF Author: John R. Vile
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN: 0275942805
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This book is the first full-length work to present debates over the constitutional amending process as a perennial theme in American political thought. Beginning with a discussion of the views of political philosophers, publicists, and legal commentators who may have influenced the views of legal change held by the American Founding Fathers, the work proceeds to look at the historical influences on and discussions surrounding the amending process that was incorporated into Article V of the U.S. Constitution. The reader will gain a new respect for the way the amending process has served and still serves as a safety valve for constitutional change in the United States without permitting ill-considered or hastily conceived modifications. This work will be of interest to political scientists, historians, and students of American studies and legal history.

The Constitutional Amending Process in American Political Thought

The Constitutional Amending Process in American Political Thought PDF Author: John R. Vile
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN: 0275942805
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book is the first full-length work to present debates over the constitutional amending process as a perennial theme in American political thought. Beginning with a discussion of the views of political philosophers, publicists, and legal commentators who may have influenced the views of legal change held by the American Founding Fathers, the work proceeds to look at the historical influences on and discussions surrounding the amending process that was incorporated into Article V of the U.S. Constitution. The reader will gain a new respect for the way the amending process has served and still serves as a safety valve for constitutional change in the United States without permitting ill-considered or hastily conceived modifications. This work will be of interest to political scientists, historians, and students of American studies and legal history.

The Constitutional Amending Process in American Political Thought

The Constitutional Amending Process in American Political Thought PDF Author: John R. Vile
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
This book is the first full-length work to present debates over the constitutional amending process as a perennial theme in American political thought. Beginning with a discussion of the views of political philosophers, publicists, and legal commentators who may have influenced the views of legal change held by the American Founding Fathers, the work proceeds to look at the historical influences on and discussions surrounding the amending process that was incorporated into Article V of the U.S. Constitution. The reader will gain a new respect for the way the amending process has served and still serves as a safety valve for constitutional change in the United States without permitting ill-considered or hastily conceived modifications. This work will be of interest to political scientists, historians, and students of American studies and legal history.

Contemporary Questions Surrounding the Constitutional Amending Process

Contemporary Questions Surrounding the Constitutional Amending Process PDF Author: John R. Vile
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
This study examines contemporary questions surrounding the process by which the U.S. Constitution can be amended. Beginning with a description of the mechanism and history of the constitutional amending process in America, the work considers five major questions surrounding the amending process. The question of justiciability: whether the courts should have authority to settle amending issues or whether they are political questions beyond the court's purview. The question of standards: what standards of review should be used. The question of safety: the safety of invoking the constitutional convention mechanism. The question of exclusivity: whether there are legal means of changing the Constitution short of Article V. And the question of limitations: whether there are any unstated constitutional limits on the amending process.

The Theory and Practice of Constitutional Change in America

The Theory and Practice of Constitutional Change in America PDF Author: John R. Vile
Publisher: Peter Lang Incorporated, International Academic Publishers
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 522

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Book Description
The only volume of its kind, this book provides diverse readings relevant to the topic of constitutional amendment and change. Beginning with sources that were part of the cultural heritage of America's Founding Fathers, the book proceeds to trace debates over the desirability and frequency of constitutional change and the adequacy of the constitutional amending process from the Revolutionary War period to the present. Included are debates over general principles, texts and discussions of individual amendments, and relevant judicial decisions. Where possible, readings are paired to show rival views; each selection is prefaced by an explanation of the reading's context and significance.

Classics of American Political and Constitutional Thought

Classics of American Political and Constitutional Thought PDF Author: Scott J. Hammond
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780872207875
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 988

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Book Description
From James I's Address Before Parliament (1610) to Joseph R. Biden, Jr.'s Learned Hand Dinner Address Before the American Jewish Committee (2005), this two-volume set offers an unparalleled selection of key texts from the history of American political and constitutional thought.

Constitutional Change in the United States

Constitutional Change in the United States PDF Author: John R. Vile
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN: 0275949184
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The processes of constitutional change in America are particularly difficult to understand because of the constant interaction between the constitutional document of 1787 and the wider set of understandings and practices surrounding that document. This work is the first to examine systematically the relationship between changes initiated by constitutional amendment and changes initiated by judicial interpretations or actions of the two elected branches of government. By examining and comparing all three mechanisms of constitutional revision, Vile offers a more complex and dynamic analysis of this important constitutional issue than can be found elsewhere in the literature.

Responding to Imperfection

Responding to Imperfection PDF Author: Sanford Levinson
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400821630
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
An increasing number of constitutional theorists, within both the legal academy and university departments of government, are focusing on the conceptual and political problems attached to the notion of constitutional amendment. Amendments are, among other things, recognitions of the imperfection of existing schemes of government. The relative ease or difficulty of amendment has significant implications for the ways that governments respond to problems that call either for new structures of governance or new powers for already established structures. This book brings together essays by leading legal authorities and political scientists on a range of questions from whether the U.S. Constitution is subject to amendment by procedures other than those authorized by Article V to how significant change is conceptualized within classical rabbinic Judaism. Though the essays are concerned for the most part with the American experience, other constitutional traditions are considered as well. The contributors include Bruce Ackerman, Akhil Reed Amar, Mark E. Brandon, David R. Dow, Stephen M. Griffin, Stephen Holmes and Cass R. Sunstein, Sanford Levinson, Donald Lutz, Walter Murphy, Frederick Schauer, John R. Vile, and Noam J. Zohar.

Too Young to Run?

Too Young to Run? PDF Author: John Evan Seery
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271048530
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
"Examines the history, theory, and politics behind the age qualifications for elected federal office in the United States Constitution. Argues that the right to run for office ought to be extended to all adult-age citizens who are otherwise office-eligible"--Provided by publisher.

Perfecting the Constitution

Perfecting the Constitution PDF Author: Darren Patrick Guerra
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 0739183869
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
He who can change the Constitution controls the Constitution. So who does control the Constitution? The answer has always been: “the people.” The people control the Constitution via the Article V amending process outlined in the Constitution itself. Changes can only be made through Article V and its formal procedures. Article V has always provided a means of perfecting the Constitution in an explicit, democratically authentic, prudent, and deliberative manner. In addition to changing the Constitution Article V also allowed the people to perfect and preserve their Constitution at the same time. In recent years Article V has come under attack by influential legal scholars who criticize it for being too difficult, undemocratic, and too formal. Such scholars advocate for ignoring Article V in favor of elite adaptation of the Constitution or popular amendment through national referendums. In making their case, critics also assume that Article V is an unimportant and expendable part of the Constitutional structure. One notable scholar called the Constitution “imbecilic” because of Article V. This book shows that, to the contrary, Article V is a unique and powerful extension of the American tradition of written constitutionalism. It was a logical extension of American constitutional development and it was a powerful tool used by the Federalists to argue for ratification of the new Constitution. Since then it has served as a means of “perfecting” the US Constitution for over 200 years via a wide range of amendments. Contrary to contemporary critics, the historical evidence shows Article V to be a vital element in the Constitutional architecture, not an expendable or ancillary piece. This book defends Article V against critics by showing that it is neither too difficult, undemocratic, nor too formal. Furthermore, a positive case is made that Article V remains the most clear and powerful way to register the sovereign desires of the American public with regard to alterations of their fundamental law. In the end, Article V is an essential bulwark to maintaining a written Constitution that secures the rights of the people against both elites and themselves.

The United States Constitution

The United States Constitution PDF Author: J. Vile
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137513500
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 366

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Book Description
This book examines the U.S. Constitution by focusing on its origins in Western political thought and its organization and subsequent amendments. It describes the document as a series of choices among alternative governmental institutions that are designed to provide national security and secure ordered liberty.