The Constitution of 1789 is a new introduction to the Constitution written on the semiquincentennial of American Independence, packed with novel and surprising insights about the Constitution’s original meaning. The book takes the reader on an in-depth tour of the Constitution’s structure and separation of powers, starting with the nature of written constitutions and the compound nature of the American Union. The book also explores the enumeration of legislative powers and its relation to the historic royal prerogatives, the meaning of executive power, and the distribution of foreign affairs and war powers between Congress and the President. It investigates the nature of judicial power and the Constitution’s complex relationship with slavery, before addressing federalism and the scope of national powers. The Constitution of 1789 dismantles several common misconceptions and conventional wisdoms and is suitable for all readers interested in the law, politics, and history of the American Republic.
Editorial Reviews
Review
‘An impressively sweeping yet accessible interpretation of the Constitution through the lens of originalism, the method that now prevails on the Supreme Court. Wurman powerfully illuminates debates among originalists on how their method applies to crucial questions. He intervenes in those debates with sophistication, wit and scholarly zest.’ Nicholas Parrillo, Yale Law School
‘Comprehensive, clear-headed and packed with essential information, The Constitution of 1789 is terrific one-stop shopping to our nation’s founding document – and to many of the great issues of the modern era.’ Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard University, and author, How to Interpret the Constitution
‘This is a marvelous – simultaneously sophisticated and accessible – introduction to the world of structural constitutionalism. It provokes careful thought on virtually every page.’ Gary Lawson, University of Florida Levin College of Law, and co-author of ‘A Great Power of Attorney’: Understanding the Fiduciary Constitution
‘Lucid, careful, precise, intelligent, eminently sensible, and a pleasure to read – this exposition of the meaning of the Constitution ratified by the people of the United States in 1788 is unexcelled. Students, legal scholars, historians, and politically alert laymen will find it indispensable.’ Paul A. Rahe, Professor of History, Hillsdale College, and author of Republics Ancient and Modern
Book Description
A new introduction to the Constitution’s original meaning on the semiquincentennial of American Independence, with novel insights.
About the Author
Ilan Wurman is the Julius E. Davis Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota. He is also the author of The Second Founding: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Amendment (2020) and A Debt against the Living: An Introduction to Originalism (2017), as well as a leading casebook on administrative law. He splits his time between Saint Paul, Minnesota, and rural Arizona.
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