Framed: America's 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance
- ISBN-10
- 0199930872
- ISBN-13
- 9780199930876
- Series
- Framed
- Category
- Law
- Pages
- 448
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2012-04-03
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Author
- Sanford Levinson
Description
In his widely acclaimed volume Our Undemocratic Constitution, Sanford Levinson boldly argued that our Constitution should not be treated with "sanctimonious reverence," but as a badly flawed document deserving revision. Now Levinson takes us deeper, asking what were the original assumptions underlying our institutions, and whether we accept those assumptions 225 years later. In Framed, Levinson challenges our belief that the most important features of our constitutions concern what rights they protect. Instead, he focuses on the fundamental procedures of governance such as congressional bicameralism; the selection of the President by the electoral college, or the dimensions of the President's veto power--not to mention the near impossibility of amending the United States Constitution. These seemingly "settled" and "hardwired" structures contribute to the now almost universally recognized "dysfunctionality" of American politics. Levinson argues that we should stop treating the United States Constitution as uniquely exemplifying the American constitutional tradition. We should be aware of the 50 state constitutions, often interestingly different--and perhaps better--than the national model. Many states have updated their constitutions by frequent amendment or by complete replacement via state constitutional conventions. California's ungovernable condition has prompted serious calls for a constitutional convention. This constant churn indicates that basic law often reaches the point where it fails and becomes obsolete. Given the experience of so many states, he writes, surely it is reasonable to believe that the U.S. Constitution merits its own updating. Whether we are concerned about making America more genuinely democratic or only about creating a system of government that can more effectively respond to contemporary challenges, we must confront the ways our constitutions, especially the United States Constitution, must be changed in fundamental ways.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2012-04-03
- 437 pages
- Paperback
- Oxford University Press
-
- 2012-03-01
- 368 pages
- Ebook
- Oxford University Press
Similar books
-
Property Law: Rules, Policies, and Practices
By Joseph William Singer, Bethany R. Berger, Nestor M. DavidsonSee also Country Community Timberlake Village v. HMW Special Utility District of Harris, 438 S.W.3d 661 (Tex. Ct. App. 2014) (holding that a neighboring ...
-
Entertainment Law and Business
By William D. Henslee, Elizabeth HensleeAfter Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson's pierced nipple on national television for 9/16ths of a second, the FCC received over 540,000 complaints.
-
The Common Law in Colonial America: Volume III: The Chesapeake and New England, 1660-1750
By William E. NelsonVolume III: The Chesapeake and New England, 1660-1750 William E. Nelson ... Decision of Law, Surry County Ct. 1673/74, in Eliza Timberlake Davis ed., ...
-
The Indiana State Constitution
By William P. McLauchlanE. Edwards v. California, 314 U.S. 160 (1941), 66 Edwards v. Housing Authority of City of ... Timberlake, 148 Ind. 38,46 N.E.339 (1897), 69,70 Graves v.
-
Child Support Guidelines: Interpretation and Application
By Laura W. MorganFitzgerald, 4.08[B][2], 5.05[D] Fitzgerald v. ... Mastrapa-Font, 7.03[A][3] Fontaine, In re, 5.05[D] Fontenette v. ... Frost, 5.05[A] Formato v.
-
Maritime Fraud and Piracy
By Paul ToddThe sole remedy is avoidance, however; damages cannot be claimed under s. ... 17, it places a great deal of power in the hands of insurance companies to ...
-
Principles of the Carriage of Goods by Sea
By Paul ToddNormally, a mate«s receipt would later be given up for a bill of lading, ... they necessarily prejudice the rights of those who deal in the goods ...
-
Maryland Employment Law
By Stanley Mazaroff, Todd Horn27 257 U.S. 184, 42 S. Ct. 72, 66 L. Ed. 189 (1921). ... 38 Argensinger, “Right to Strike”: Labor Organization and the New Deal in Baltimore, 78 MD . HIST .
-
Contract Law in New Zealand
By Stephen Todd, Jeremy Finn704 Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017, s. 80. 705 Leith v. Gould [1986] 1 NZLR 760. It is not clear how a New Zealand court would deal with a case such ...
-
Tort Law in New Zealand
By Stephen Todd... to meet the reasonable expectations of claimants about how the corporation should deal with them, by, inter alia, ... 7 Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, s.