ABSTRACT

This, the concise edition of Liberty and Union, is an abridged constitutional history of the United States, designed for short single-semester courses, comprising the key topics from Volumes 1 and 2.

Written in a clear and engaging narrative style, it successfully unites thorough chronological coverage with a thematic approach, offering critical analysis of core constitutional history topics, set in the political, social, and economic context that made them constitutional issues in the first place. Combining a thoughtful and balanced narrative with an authoritative stance on key issues, the authors deliberately explain the past in the light of the past, without imposing upon it the standards of later generations.

Authored by two experienced professors in the field, this concise edition presents seminal topics while retaining the narrative flow of the two full original volumes. An accessible alternative to dense scholarly works, this textbook avoids unnecessary technical jargon, defines legal terms and historical personalities where appropriate, and makes explicit connections between constitutional themes and historical events. For students in a short undergraduate or postgraduate constitutional history course, or anyone with a general interest in constitutional developments, this book will be essential reading.

Useful features include:

  • Full glossary of legal terminology
  • Recommended reading
  • A table of cases
  • Extracts from primary documents
  • Companion website

 

Useful documents provided:

  • Declaration of Independence
  • Articles of Confederation
  • Constitution of the United States of America
  • Chronological list of Supreme Court justices

chapter I|24 pages

English and Colonial Origins

chapter II|16 pages

Independence and Nationhood

chapter III|23 pages

A More Perfect Union

chapter IV|22 pages

Launching the New Government

chapter V|19 pages

Jeffersonian Republicanism

chapter VI|25 pages

John Marshall and Judicial Nationalism

chapter VII|20 pages

Majority Rule and Sectional Rights

chapter VIII|17 pages

More Power to the States

chapter IX|27 pages

Slavery and the Constitution

chapter X|28 pages

The Crisis of the Union

chapter XI|20 pages

Reconstructing the Nation

chapter XII|19 pages

Promises Betrayed

chapter XIII|27 pages

Property Rights and Judicial Activism

chapter XIV|30 pages

Progressivism and the New Nationalism

chapter XV|14 pages

World War I and the Constitution

chapter XVI|28 pages

Normalcy and Reaction

chapter XVII|20 pages

The New Deal Revolution

chapter XVIII|25 pages

The New Constitutionalism

chapter XIX|18 pages

World War II and the Constitution

chapter XX|28 pages

The Era of the Cold War

chapter XXI|18 pages

Earl Warren Takes the Helm

chapter XXII|14 pages

A Decade of Change and Progress

chapter XXIII|16 pages

The New Judicial Activism

chapter XXIV|16 pages

Nationalizing Criminal Due Process

chapter XXV|12 pages

An Era of Discord and Crisis

chapter XXVI|15 pages

Progress on First Amendment Rights

chapter XXVII|15 pages

Civil Rights and Affirmative Action

chapter XXVIII|16 pages

Protecting Individual Liberty

chapter XXIX|17 pages

Criminal Due Process after Warren

chapter XXX|12 pages

Civilizing the Death Penalty

chapter XXXI|11 pages

Politics and the Constitution

chapter XXXII|15 pages

The New Millennium

chapter XXXIII|16 pages

The Roberts Court