Originalism, Federalism, and the American Constitutional Enterprise: A Historical Inquiry - Hardcover

Purcell Jr., Edward A.

9780300122039: Originalism, Federalism, and the American Constitutional Enterprise: A Historical Inquiry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300122039 ISBN 13: 9780300122039

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2007

In this lively historical examination of American federalism, a leading scholar in the field refutes the widely accepted notion that the founding fathers carefully crafted a constitutional balance of power between the states and the federal government. Edward A. Purcell Jr. bases his argument on close analysis of the Constitution s original structure and the ways that structure both induced and accommodated changes over the centuries. There was no clear agreement among the founding fathers regarding the true nature of American federalism, Purcell contends, nor was there a consensus on correct lines dividing state and national authority. Furthermore, even had there been some true original understanding, the elastic and dynamic nature of the constitutional structure would have made it impossible for subsequent generations to maintain a

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About the Author:

Edward A. Purcell, Jr., is Joseph Solomon Distinguished Professor, New York Law School. He is author of many books and scholarly articles, including Brandeis and the Progressive Constitution: Erie, the Judicial Power, and the Politics of Federal Courts in Twentieth-Century America (2000), published by Yale University Press, for which he received the Coif Triennial Book Award and the Triennial Griswold Prize. He lives in New York City.

Review:

“Edward A. Purcell, Jr. has written a vigorous critique, grounded in the Age of Madison, of the Rehnquist Court's revival of constitutional federalism. It's a learned, thoughtful book that's great fun to read.”—Charles W. McCurdy, University of Virginia
(Charles W. McCurdy)

“Purcell’s book is an extraordinarily learned historical performance, bringing together an enormous array of secondary literature in a new way to address very topical questions concerning 'originalism' and the vagaries of American federalism.”—Clyde S. Spillenger, Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law

(Clyde S. Spillenger)

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