Book contents
- Originalism’s Promise
- Originalism’s Promise
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I A Description of Originalism
- Part II Originalism Is the Best Explanation of Our Existing Constitutional Practice and the Most Normatively Attractive Theory of Constitutional Interpretation
- Conclusion
- Index
Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 July 2019
Book contents
- Originalism’s Promise
- Originalism’s Promise
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I A Description of Originalism
- Part II Originalism Is the Best Explanation of Our Existing Constitutional Practice and the Most Normatively Attractive Theory of Constitutional Interpretation
- Conclusion
- Index
Summary
The Constitution of the United States is Americans’ most important civic document. It is a source of national identity, substituting for the religious, linguistic, cultural, or ethnic bonds that hold together many other countries. It is the pinnacle of our legal system, and from its perch it decides many of the most important issues of today, not to mention those in the past.2 The Constitution is our nation’s legal and – to only a slightly lesser degree – cultural “trump card” on these important issues. And yet, Americans disagree about its meaning and how to arrive at its meaning.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Originalism's PromiseA Natural Law Account of the American Constitution, pp. 1 - 6Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019