Unfounded Fears

Since the first and only constitutional convention in 1787, 26 amendments have been added to our governing document, but not one of them became law by virtue of the convention method. Despite more than 400 applications, no constitutional convention has been called in 202 years. Indeed it was James Madison who wrote, "Having witnessed the difficulties and dangers experienced by the first Convention. . . . I should tremble for the result of a Second." In Unfounded Fears: Myths and Realities of a Constitutional Convention, Weber and Perry present a balanced, scholarly look on this controversial topic and introduce surprising conclusions.

Weber and Perry seek to determine if, in fact, the first convention was a runaway, as common wisdom holds, and they examine the process by which the Convention was called. They also review the attempts since 1787 to call a second constitutional convention, and they confront many of the questions commonly raised about a potential convention, including the process for electing delegates and the ability of Congress to establish and control the convention's procedures and substance of what a convention does. In their final chapter, they reflect on the realities of a balanced-budget amendment.

Barbara A. Perry is a renowned Kennedy scholar, presidency and U.S. Supreme Court expert. She serves on the White House Historical Association's Board of Directors, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library's Advisory Board, and the John F. Kennedy National Historical Site's Friends Board. Previously in the Department of Government at Sweet Briar College, she is currently the J. Wilson Newman Professor in Presidential Studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center and co-chair of Presidential Oral History Program.
She is the author of numerous titles including Reconcilable Differences: The Unlikely Political Alliance of John F. Kennedy and Eleanor Roosevelt; Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch; Jacqueline Kennedy: First Lady of the New Frontier; and Edward Kennedy: An Oral History.