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In the wake of the 2000 Election, the relationship between the Supreme Court and the American states has become more important. Once derided by the Supreme Court as a 'truism,' the Tenth Amendment has in recent years been transformed from a neglected provision into a vital 'first principle.' As such, it has provided the foundation for a series of decisions in which the Supreme Court has elevated the status of the states, often at the expense of federal power and in the face of previously settled assumptions. In this important volume, four prominent scholars--two historians and two law professors--examine carefully one of the central tenets in the Supreme Court's recent Tenth Amendment jurisprudence: the assumption that the results fashioned by a narrow majority are compelled by history and consistent with the intentions of the framers. They shed important new light on a series of decisions that mark a major change in our thinking about the nature of a constitutional system within which both the federal government and the states properly regard themselves as sovereign entities.

In 1932, Eugene Angelo Braxton Hemdon, a young Afro-American member of the Communist Party, U.S.A., was arrested in Atlanta and charged with an attempt to incite insurrection against that state's lawful authority. Some five years later, in Herndon v. Lowry, Herndon filed a writ of habeas corpus asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the constitutionality of the Georgia statute under which he had been convicted. Two weeks before his twenty-fourth birthday, the Court, voting 5-4, declared the use of the Georgia political-crimes statute against him unconstitutional on the grounds that it deprived Herndon of his rights to freedom of speech and assembly and because the statute failed to furnish a reasonably ascertainable standard of guilt. Herndon v. Lowry is generally acknowledged as one of the great civil liberties decisions of the 1930s, one of the notable "success stories" of the Supreme Court's First Amendment jurisprudence. It marked the first time the Supreme Court had mentioned the Holmes-Brandeis "clear and present danger" formula in the ten years since its decision in Whitney v. California. It was also the first case in which the Supreme Court used the test to uphold the civil liberties claims of an individual against censorial state action, the first time the Supreme Court reviewed a sedition conviction from the South, and the first political-crimes conviction reviewed by the Court that involved an African-American defendant.

Annotation A thorough, engaging historical sketch of the framing of Pennsylvania's constitution and the many revisions it has undergone. Branning exposes the shortcomings of the document and its inability to meet the ever-changing needs of Pennsylvanians. Those interested in a thriving economic and cultural life for the Keystone State will be enlightened by her analysis, as trenchant today as when it was first published in 1960

The constitutional question is of paramount importance in the political and nationalist agenda of late twentieth-century Europe. Professor van Caenegem's new book addresses fundamental questions of constitutional organisation: democracy versus autocracy, unitary versus federal organisation, pluralism versus intolerance, by analysing different models of constitutional government through an historical perspective. The approach is chronological: constitutionalism is explained as the result of many centuries of trial and error through a narrative which begins in the early Middle Ages and concludes with contemporary debates, focusing on Europe, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Special attention is devoted to the rise of the rule of law, and of constitutional, parliamentary, and federal forms of government. The epilogue discusses the future of liberal democracy as a universal model

Providing definitions and historical background for more than three hundred key concepts and words, The Illustrated Dictionary of Constitutional Concepts is the first comprehensive reference to terms used around the world. The book also shows, with excerpts, how these concepts and terms are implemented in their respective constitutions.This timely resource also provides biographical profiles of some fifty people - philosophers as well as national leaders - whose ideas and actions have helped form constitutions worldwide. The Illustrated Dictionary of Constitutional Concepts is lavishly illustrated with over 280 blacka and white photos and illustrations of various concepts, people and places throughout the world. The volume include explanations of words and terms that appear in constitutions or are reflected in the structure of governments, from the ancient Greeks to the present day. Each term is placed in its historical perspectiveand, where relevant, its etymology is given. To illustrate how they are used, appropriate excerpts from current national constitutions are provided at the end of each entry.

Item 1042-A, 1042-B (microfiche). ; "October 1985." ; At head of title: 99th Congress, 1st session. Committee print. ; Cover title. ; Includes bibliographical references. ; Mode of access: Internet.

This book examines the "constitutional faith" that has, since 1788, been a central component of American "civil religion." By taking seriously the parallel between wholehearted acceptance of the Constitution and religious faith, Sanford Levinson opens up a host of intriguing questions about what it means to be American. While some view the Constitution as the central component of an American religion that serves to unite the social order, Levinson maintains that its sacred role can result in conflict, fragmentation, and even war.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 365-377) and index. ; Mode of access: Internet.