The Second Bill of Rights FDR's Unfinished Revolution -- And Why We Need It More Than Ever

by Sunstein, Cass R.

• ISBN13: 9780465083336
• ISBN10: 0465083331
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-07-04
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

In 1944, Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave a State of the Union Address that was arguably the greatest political speech of the twentieth century. In it, Roosevelt grappled with the definition of security in a democracy, concluding that "unless there is security here at home, there cannot be lasting peace in the world." To help ensure that security, he proposed a "Second Bill of Rights" -- economic rights that he saw as necessary to political freedom. Many of the great legislative achievements of the past sixty years stem from Roosevelt's vision. Using this speech as a launching point, Cass R. Sunstein shows how these rights are vital to the continuing security of our nation. This is an ambitious, sweeping book that argues for a new vision of FDR, of constitutional history, and our current political scene.

Author Biography

Cass R. Sunstein is Karl N. Llewellyn Distinguished Service Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Chicago Law School and a contributing editor at The New Republic and the American Prospect. He has testified before Congress on numerous occasions and has contributed as well to such publications as the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post. His numerous books include Republic.com, Risk and Reason, Laws of Fear, and The Second Bill of Rights. He lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Table of Contents

The Second Bill of Rights	ix
Introduction	1	(8)
PART I: ROOSEVELT
1 The Speech of the Century	9	(8)
2 The Myth of Laissez-Faire	17	(18)
3 Rights from Wrongs: Roosevelt's Constitutional Order	35	(26)
4 The Birth of the Second Bill	61	(38)
PART II: AMERICA
5 A Puzzle and an Overview	99	(10)
6 The Oldest Constitution on Earth	109	(18)
7 American Culture and American Exceptionalism	127	(12)
8 America's Pragmatic Constitution	139	(10)
9 How the Supreme Court (Almost) Quietly Adopted the Second Bill	149
PART III: CONSTITUTIONS AND COMMITMENTS
10 Citizenship, Opportunity, Security	175	(18)
11 Objections: Against the Second Bill?	193	(16)
12 The Question of Enforcement	209	(22)
Epilogue: Roosevelt's Incomplete Triumph	231	(4)
Appendix I: Message to the Congress on the State of the Union Address, January 11, 1944	235	(10)
Appendix II: The Universal Declaration of Human. Rights (excerpts)	245	(2)
Appendix III: International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (excerpts)	247	(6)
Appendix IV Excerpts from Various Constitutions	253	(10)
Notes	263	(16)
Bibliographical Note	279	(2)
Acknowledgments	281	(2)
Index	283