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Original Meanings

Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution

Author Jack N. Rakove
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Paperback
$18.95 US
Knopf | Vintage
On sale May 27, 1997 | 464 Pages | 978-0-679-78121-9
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  • History > Period History: U.S. > Constitutional Convention
  • History > Period History: U.S. > Early National Period (1783-1832)
  • History > Topical History > History of Law
  • History > U.S. History > U.S. Constitutional History
  • Political Science > American Government and Politics > Constitution
  • Legal and Paralegal Studies > Legal Studies > Constitutional Law
  • About
  • Awards
  • Author
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize

What did the U.S. Constitution originally mean, and how can we understand the intentions of its framers?  From abortion to same-sex marriage to gun control, today's most heated legal and political debates hinge on these questions. Rakove traces the complex weave of ideology and interests from which the Constitution emerged and shows how it has meant different things to different groups of Americans at different moments in its creation.  Original Meanings examines all classic issues that the framers of the Constitution had to solve: federalism, representation, executive power, individual rights, and the idea that the Constitution itself should become supreme law.  In the process, Rakove brings to life such personalities as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, James Wilson, and, especially, James Madison--the Constitution's presiding genius--thus creating an accessible historical context in which students can consider the Constitution anew.  It is essential reading for anyone hoping to understand the way American history, law, and politics intersect, as well as the issues that continue to rage around the Constitution today.

PRAISE FOR Original Meanings:

"A deeply satisfying account of the political world from which the United States Constitution  issued--one in which members of a knowledgeable and experienced elite spoke with frankness of their fears.... It demonstrates convincingly that the world of our Founding Fathers is not ours."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Rakove demonstrates the historical and theoretical complexity of the seemingly simple notion of a "jurisprudence of original intention"--the theory that judges can interpret the Constitution solely by reference to the opinions of its framers.... Rakove appears to contend that the Constitution was intended to be a living document, not a static, once-and-for-all enumeration of all individual rights and federal powers. "How," asks the author rhetorically, "could those who wrote the Constitution possibly understand its meaning better than those who had the experience of observing and participating in its operation?" A unique contribution to the historical and legal debate surrounding the Constitution."
--Kirkus Reviews
  • WINNER | 1997
    Pulitzer Prize
  • WINNER | 1997
    Pulitzer Prize
Jack N. Rakove is the author of six books, including Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution, which won the Pulitzer Prize in History, and Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America, which was a finalist for the George Washington Prize. Rakove is the editor of seven other books, including The Unfinished Election of 2000. View titles by Jack N. Rakove

About

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize

What did the U.S. Constitution originally mean, and how can we understand the intentions of its framers?  From abortion to same-sex marriage to gun control, today's most heated legal and political debates hinge on these questions. Rakove traces the complex weave of ideology and interests from which the Constitution emerged and shows how it has meant different things to different groups of Americans at different moments in its creation.  Original Meanings examines all classic issues that the framers of the Constitution had to solve: federalism, representation, executive power, individual rights, and the idea that the Constitution itself should become supreme law.  In the process, Rakove brings to life such personalities as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, James Wilson, and, especially, James Madison--the Constitution's presiding genius--thus creating an accessible historical context in which students can consider the Constitution anew.  It is essential reading for anyone hoping to understand the way American history, law, and politics intersect, as well as the issues that continue to rage around the Constitution today.

PRAISE FOR Original Meanings:

"A deeply satisfying account of the political world from which the United States Constitution  issued--one in which members of a knowledgeable and experienced elite spoke with frankness of their fears.... It demonstrates convincingly that the world of our Founding Fathers is not ours."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Rakove demonstrates the historical and theoretical complexity of the seemingly simple notion of a "jurisprudence of original intention"--the theory that judges can interpret the Constitution solely by reference to the opinions of its framers.... Rakove appears to contend that the Constitution was intended to be a living document, not a static, once-and-for-all enumeration of all individual rights and federal powers. "How," asks the author rhetorically, "could those who wrote the Constitution possibly understand its meaning better than those who had the experience of observing and participating in its operation?" A unique contribution to the historical and legal debate surrounding the Constitution."
--Kirkus Reviews

Awards

  • WINNER | 1997
    Pulitzer Prize
  • WINNER | 1997
    Pulitzer Prize

Author

Jack N. Rakove is the author of six books, including Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution, which won the Pulitzer Prize in History, and Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America, which was a finalist for the George Washington Prize. Rakove is the editor of seven other books, including The Unfinished Election of 2000. View titles by Jack N. Rakove

Additional formats

  • Original Meanings
    Original Meanings
    Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution
    Jack N. Rakove
    978-0-307-43451-7
    $12.99 US
    Ebook
    Vintage
    Apr 21, 2010
  • Original Meanings
    Original Meanings
    Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution
    Jack N. Rakove
    978-0-307-43451-7
    $12.99 US
    Ebook
    Vintage
    Apr 21, 2010
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