The American Constitution: Its Origins and Development

by Herman Belz, Alfred H. Kelly, Winfred Harbison

Book Overview

The hallmarks of this authoritative text have been strengthened throughout: its clear exposition of judicial rulings and their significance, its even-handed discussion of larger trends in American constitutional history, and a broad approach that brings politics and social developments to bear on constitutional cases. The Seventh Edition also takes account of major constitutional developments of the 1980s: the constitutional implications of divided...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393960560
• ISBN13: 9780393960563
• Release Date: March 1991
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 560 Pages
• Weight: 1.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A Must have!

The book I have is slightly different that what is offered here. I have the 3rd edition of this book, which was printed in 1963. At that time, this was all one volume, though quite a handful at over 1,000 pages. The new two-volume edition has added the chapters covering the years since the Kennedy years including Watergate, the Burger Court and what must surely be a fascinating chapter on Judicial Review and Constitutionalism. If there is a book available anywhere that present the history and development of the Constitution in a unbiased manner, this book is it. The authors simply present the facts and leave the reader to come to thier own conclusions. If you are a student or just want to learn about the Constitution, or need to research the history of the development of the Constitution and what the Courts have done to subvert it, this is a must have for your personal library. My old 1963 volumes probably has more notes in the margins than any other book I own. You will use it often and learn imensely from it. I anxiously await the opportunity to read the updated chapters in volume two. Monty Rainey www.juntosociety.com

A history of constitutional law

Unlike constitutional law classes, which teach you how to litigate the present, this book (or more accurately, these two volumes -- vol 2 isn't up at the moment) is a good complement to what is taught as constitutional law in law school. But a law school education isn't necessary to appreciate these books; they provide a context that can be appreciated by themselves.The first volume (the red one) covers the history of constitutions from the earliest colonial covenants up to the Civil War. The second volume (the blue one) covers the Reconstruction (including the Johnson impeachment and the 1876 presidential controversy) up through the Iran-Contra and up until the early 90s (at least in my volume).The tone of the works treats the Constitution as almost like a new world colony, upon which one or another group stakes its flag on a certain clause therein, and then chronicling the history of such claims over time. The constitutional right to own slaves came and went. The economic due process decisions came and went. The New Deal excesses came and went. The Warren Court changes have come, and many of them have now gone. The constitution is not left unchanged, but it is not changed as much as the ideologues in each of those eras would have liked. As long as we can hope that there is something in the constitution that we can hope will outlast the public demand of the moment, the better the chances are that the republic will survive.

Thorough, analytical, and highly insightful.

This book is a must read for those interested in understanding the evolutionary development of the American Constitution. Not only do the authors provide understandable interpretations of significant Supreme Court decisions, but they also capture the Zeitgeist which also played a major role. This book is well researched and written for scholars and non-scholars alike. Highly recommended for anyone interested in American history.