The Language of the Constitution: A Sourcebook and Guide to the Ideas, Terms, and Vocabulary Used by the Framers of the United States Constitution

What did the Founding Fathers mean when they wrote the Constitution? What did the right to keep and bear arms or an establishment of religion or the republican form of government mean to the founders? Obviously, as enlightened men of the late eighteenth century, they were familiar with a host of ideas and concepts drawn from ancient political theory as well as contemporary political pamphleteers. However, as our language has evolved the precise meaning of the words of the founders has become obscure as well as misunderstood.

To make the words and concepts used by the founders clear to modern readers, Greene and his colleagues have gone back to the sources known to the founders and excerpted the key passages from these sources that bear on the language and concepts of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. More than eighty key words are organized in alphabetical order, from accusation to witness. Under each entry, passages from key sources are provided in chronological order from as early as 1215 to December 15, 1791. Augmented by a concordance to the Constitution and a general subject index, The Language of the Constitution provides easy access to the key concepts and ideas of the Constitution as the founders understood them. This volume is invaluable for students and legal professionals, including lawyers, legislators, and judges of the state courts (which are now interpreting the federal constitution), as well as the federal courts. It is an essential acquisition for public, school, university, and law school libraries.

THURSTON GREENE is a practicing attorney in Connecticut with a life-long concern for vital issues affecting the constitutional order of the United States.

STUART B. FLEXNER was an internationally famous lexicographer and author of numerous works on language, as well as the editor-in-chief of the reference department at Random House.

DOUGLAS M. ARNOLD is a professional historian, author, and documentary editor.

CHRISTOPHER COLLIER is the Connecticut State Historian.

DOMINICK EGAN is a professional legal researcher and freelance writer.