To Secure These Rights

by Gerber, Scott Douglas

• ISBN13: 9780814730898
• ISBN10: 0814730892
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-09-01
• Publisher: New York Univ Pr

Summary

To Secure These Rightsenters the fascinating--and often contentious--debate over constitutional interpretation. Scott Douglas Gerber here argues that the Constitution of the United States should be interpreted in light of the natural rights political philosophy of the Declaration of Independence and that the Supreme Court is the institution of American government that should be primarily responsible for identifying and applying that philosophy in American life.Importantly, the theory advanced in this book--what Gerber calls liberal originalism--is neither consistently liberal nor consistently conservative in the modern conception of those terms. Rather, the theory is liberal in the classic sense of viewing the basic purpose of government to be safeguarding the natural rights of individuals. As Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men. In essence, Gerber maintains that the Declaration articulates the philosophical ends of our nation and that the Constitution embodies the means to effectuate those ends. Gerber's analysis reveals that the Constitution cannot be properly understood without recourse to history, political philosophy, and law.

Author Biography

Scott Douglas Gerber is Visiting Assistant Professor of Government at the College of William and Mary.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xiii
Introduction: Liberal Originalism	p. 1
The Jurisprudence of the American Founding
The Declaration of Independence	p. 19
"An Expression of the American Mind"	p. 20
Revising the Revisionism: Lockean Liberalism and the American Revolution	p. 23
The Political Philosophy of the Declaration of Independence	p. 40
The Constitution of the United States	p. 57
The Preamble	p. 60
The Framing and Ratification of the Constitution	p. 63
The Bill of Rights	p. 68
The Federalist Papers	p. 74
The Intellectual Leaders of the Constitutional Period	p. 79
Early State Constitutions	p. 90
Natural Rights and the Role of the Court
The Court	p. 95
From Legislative Supremacy to Judicial Review	p. 96
Natural Rights and Judicial Review	p. 104
Judicial Finality	p. 125
Checks on the Court	p. 134
Limiting the Court's Appellate Jurisdiction	p. 135
The Article 5 Amendment Process	p. 139
Impeachment	p. 144
Judicial Self-Restraint	p. 150
The Appointment Process	p. 154
Constitutional Interpretation	p. 162
Equality	p. 164
Life	p. 175
Liberty	p. 186
The Pursuit of Happiness	p. 193
Conclusion: A New American Revolution?	p. 196
Notes	p. 205
Works Cited	p. 269
Index	p. 295
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