Perfecting the Constitution : The Case for the Article V Amendment Process

Darren Patrick Guerra

ISBN 10: 1498515444 / ISBN 13: 9781498515443

Editore: Lexington Books, 2015

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nach der Bestellung gedruckt Neuware - Printed after ordering - This book provides a brief intellectual and constitutional history of the Article V amending process from the Imperial Crisis until the present and shows Article V to be a vital part of the Constitutional architecture.

Codice articolo 9781498515443

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Perfecting the Constitution : The Case for the Article V Amendment Process
• Editore: Lexington Books
• Data di pubblicazione: 2015
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1498515444
• ISBN 13: 9781498515443
• Rilegatura: Taschenbuch
• Condizione: Neu
• Dimensioni: 229 L x 152 A x 15 P (millimetri) 229 millimetri di larghezza per 152 millimetri di altezza per 15 millimetri di profondità
• Peso: 421 grammi

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

He who can change the Constitution controls the Constitution. So who does control the Constitution? The answer has always been: “the people.” The people control the Constitution via the Article V amending process outlined in the Constitution itself. Changes can only be made through Article V and its formal procedures. Article V has always provided a means of perfecting the Constitution in an explicit, democratically authentic, prudent, and deliberative manner. In addition to changing the Constitution Article V also allowed the people to perfect and preserve their Constitution at the same time. In recent years Article V has come under attack by influential legal scholars who criticize it for being too difficult, undemocratic, and too formal. Such scholars advocate for ignoring Article V in favor of elite adaptation of the Constitution or popular amendment through national referendums. In making their case, critics also assume that Article V is an unimportant and expendable part of the Constitutional structure. One notable scholar called the Constitution “imbecilic” because of Article V. This book shows that, to the contrary, Article V is a unique and powerful extension of the American tradition of written constitutionalism. It was a logical extension of American constitutional development and it was a powerful tool used by the Federalists to argue for ratification of the new Constitution. Since then it has served as a means of “perfecting” the US Constitution for over 200 years via a wide range of amendments. Contrary to contemporary critics, the historical evidence shows Article V to be a vital element in the Constitutional architecture, not an expendable or ancillary piece. This book defends Article V against critics by showing that it is neither too difficult, undemocratic, nor too formal. Furthermore, a positive case is made that Article V remains the most clear and powerful way to register the sovereign desires of the American public with regard to alterations of their fundamental law. In the end, Article V is an essential bulwark to maintaining a written Constitution that secures the rights of the people against both elites and themselves.

Informazioni sull'autore

Darren Patrick Guerra is an associate professor of political science at Biola University where he teaches courses on Constitutional Law and American Politics. He formerly taught at Vanguard University of Southern California.