In a remarkably innovative reconstruction of constitutional history, Robert Burt traces the controversy over judicial supremacy back to the founding fathers. Also drawing extensively on Lincoln's conception of political equality, Burt argues convincingly that judicial supremacy and majority rule are both inconsistent with the egalitarian democratic ideal. The first fully articulated presentation of the Constitution as a communally interpreted document in which the Supreme Court plays an important but not predominant role, The Constitution in Conflict has dramatic implications for both the theory and the practice of constitutional law.

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice An innovative account of Abraham Lincoln, constitutional thinker and doer Abraham Lincoln is justly revered for his brilliance, compassion, humor, and rededication of the United States to achieving liberty and justice for all. He led the nation into a bloody civil war to uphold the system of government established by the US Constitution—a system he regarded as the “last best hope of mankind.” But how did Lincoln understand the Constitution? In this groundbreaking study, Noah Feldman argues that Lincoln deliberately and recurrently violated the United States’ founding arrangements. When he came to power, it was widely believed that the federal government could not use armed force to prevent a state from seceding. It was also assumed that basic civil liberties could be suspended in a rebellion by Congress but not by the president, and that the federal government had no authority over slavery in states where it existed. As president, Lincoln broke decisively with all these precedents, and effectively rewrote the Constitution’s place in the American system. Before the Civil War, the Constitution was best understood as a compromise pact—a rough and ready deal between states that allowed the Union to form and function. After Lincoln, the Constitution came to be seen as a sacred text—a transcendent statement of the nation’s highest ideals. The Broken Constitution is the first book to tell the story of how Lincoln broke the Constitution in order to remake it. To do so, it offers a riveting narrative of his constitutional choices and how he made them—and places Lincoln in the rich context of thinking of the time, from African American abolitionists to Lincoln’s Republican rivals and Secessionist ideologues. Includes 8 Pages of Black-and-White Illustrations

The U.S. Constitution is a blueprint for a free society as well as a source of enduring conflict over how that society must be governed. This breezy, concise guide explains the central conflicts that frame our constitutional controversies, written in clear non-academic language to serve as a resource for engaged citizens, both inside and outside of an academic setting.

An eminent constitutional scholar reveals how our approach to rights is dividing America, and shows how we can build a better system of justice.

A classic on the separation of powers, this book dissects the crucial constitutional disputes between the executive and legislative branches from the Constitutional Convention to the present day. New material includes military tribunals and NSA eavesdropping, disputes over executive orders, state secrets privilege, and post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Written primarily for undergraduate courses in criminal justice, constitutional law, and government, The Constitution: Major Cases and Conflicts offers the full text of many landmark Supreme Court cases, selected both for the combinations of constitutional issues they involve and for their continuing relevance today. This text is of particular interest to criminal justice students, because while most constitutional law books used in this field address only criminal cases, The Constitution includes civil cases as well. This is important because various situations involving First Amendment issues, such as protest, can give rise to criminal justice issues when protesters are arrested for disorderly conduct. Thus, in this book the criminal justice (and any other) student is exposed to both civil and criminal Supreme Court cases, along with explanations of their social and historical importance. The decisions in The Constitution: Major Cases and Conflicts, chosen from among the thousands available, involve multiple layers of legal conflict, so that by studying them, the student can come to understand converging ideals within the Constitution. They also offer insights into American culture that remain relevant to present-day society, and they provide a road map through the evolution of the Supreme Court and its shifting reasoning on issues such as federalism, protest, the right to counsel, search and seizure, and civil rights.

The Constitution: Major Cases and Conflicts provides students with a road map through the evolution of the Supreme Court, giving clarity to complex issues. This book has chosen pivotal cases based on the importance of the decisions in law, history, and American society. The Constitution has full decisions, not mere excerpts, allowing students to read for themselves and fully understand the logic of the Supreme Court majority and dissenters. These cases involve criminal justice, civil liberties, State's rights, gender, and racial justice as these issues correspond with the balance of powers between the three branches of government. The cases are placed in a historical context with thoughtful questions for discussion. Readers will follow the Supreme Court as it grapples with slavery in early colonial America to 21st century concerns regarding same-sex marriage and technology.