Product Details

The New York Times - Adam Liptak

Rakove…gains momentum as his book progresses. His writing becomes slyer, shedding some of its textbook quality.

Publishers Weekly

This probing commentary on America's founding documents by constitutional historian Rakove (winner of a Pulitzer for Original Meanings) begins with a long essay on their historical and political background, stressing their ideological innovations. His detailed exegeses unavoidably lose some thematic coherence while elucidating the Declaration as a work of propaganda (considerably overstating George III's despotism, notes Rakove) and the Constitution's murky political compromises. Rakove is a constitutionalist—but he's palpably dissatisfied with the Constitution we've got. Among other complaints, he says amending the Constitution is so difficult, we passively interpret it instead of remaking it to suit our evolving purposes. Rakove's is a lucid, thought-provoking guide to the contents—and discontents—of our national charters. 34 b&w illus. (Nov.)

Alan Wallace - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

With more decisions to come on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court's redefinition of campaign--finance law in the context of the First Amendment, [this book is a] timely reminder that Americans too rarely read, much less consider, their nation's most important documents as closely as they should...[It's an] important addition to a vital and ongoing American debate. Whatever one thinks the Constitution and Declaration of Independence mean, there's value in revisiting those texts, reviewing how they've been construed throughout U.S. history and reconsidering arguments for and against differing interpretations. [This book] invites Americans to do just that--and to renew their appreciation for the genius of those who drafted the blueprints for U.S. freedom and republican government.

Sanford Levinson - New Republic online

Provide[s] some essential civic education...Rakove's inclusion of (and comments on) the Declaration of Independence is useful, and his extensive introduction is especially valuable. Rakove is one of the most gifted writers among contemporary American historians, and he provides an illuminating overview of the political history that generated both the Declaration in 1776 and then, only eleven years later (following the failure of our first constitution, the Articles of Confederation) the Constitution that was drafted in Philadelphia.

Library Journal

What are the frameworks through which we govern our country? In separate texts, Rakove and Lipsky provide annotated analysis of our founding U.S. documents. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Rakove (history & political science, Stanford Univ.; Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution) presents both the Declaration and the Constitution with carefully laid out annotation that's accessible to general readers as well as high school and college students. His extended introduction provides a readable and instructive analysis of how the writing of the Constitution progressed, especially on matters concerning representation, executive power, and creation of the amendments. His annotations often rely upon contemporary usage and meaning from the time of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution—useful for students to understand—and he compares such usage to other documents of the time.

What People Are Saying

Jack Rakove provides clear and accessible annotations to the two most fundamental documents of America's civil religion. Especially important are his insights about 'hard-wired' constitutional provisions that, because they are never litigated, are too often ignored with regard to their role in structuring the American polity. This book will prove of immense value to students, scholars, and ordinary citizens.

What People Are Saying

Jack Rakove provides clear and accessible annotations to the two most fundamental documents of America's civil religion. Especially important are his insights about 'hard-wired' constitutional provisions that, because they are never litigated, are too often ignored with regard to their role in structuring the American polity. This book will prove of immense value to students, scholars, and ordinary citizens.
— Sanford Levinson, author of Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It)

What People Are Saying

Jack Rakove is one of the most distinguished historians of this nation's Founding era. Here, he explores the background of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and explicates their meaning. Every American citizen wishing to know more about our founding documents will find this book an invaluable introduction to our distinctive legal heritage.
— Michael J. Klarman, Kirkland & Ellis Professor, Harvard Law School

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents