Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Second Creation: Fixing the American Constitution in the Founding Era
The Second Creation: Fixing the American Constitution in the Founding Era
The Second Creation: Fixing the American Constitution in the Founding Era
Ebook728 pages15 hours

The Second Creation: Fixing the American Constitution in the Founding Era

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

A stunning revision of our founding document’s evolving history that forces us to confront anew the question that animated the founders so long ago: What is our Constitution?

Americans widely believe that the United States Constitution was created when it was drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1788. But in a shrewd rereading of the Founding era, Jonathan Gienapp upends this long-held assumption, recovering the unknown story of American constitutional creation in the decade after its adoption—a story with explosive implications for current debates over constitutional originalism and interpretation.

When the Constitution first appeared, it was shrouded in uncertainty. Not only was its meaning unclear, but so too was its essential nature. Was the American Constitution a written text, or something else? Was it a legal text? Was it finished or unfinished? What rules would guide its interpretation? Who would adjudicate competing readings? As political leaders put the Constitution to work, none of these questions had answers. Through vigorous debates they confronted the document’s uncertainty, and—over time—how these leaders imagined the Constitution radically changed. They had begun trying to fix, or resolve, an imperfect document, but they ended up fixing, or cementing, a very particular notion of the Constitution as a distinctively textual and historical artifact circumscribed in space and time. This means that some of the Constitution’s most definitive characteristics, ones which are often treated as innate, were only added later and were thus contingent and optional.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 9, 2018
ISBN9780674989528

Related to The Second Creation

Related ebooks

United States History For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Second Creation

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    The Second Creation - Jonathan Gienapp

    < ^book_preview_excerpt.htmlٲG%+&[H(XGid@Ndr ^}v|J}IZHP} n9Dx|W ǯ_BKشͶxڅrڦ= ?е7U/cMOۦa䏪~׎|֕r!b|?<|y?<+yȇW~x]ÓW~O??W<3<>ʾ/7OIGyYϚ}]?>i{t0t}B_mC3ws_⇲{(;Y׶>c> e?cC /ձcۄ~y-o$[,~,.4/Pos}G~>}TSwũp(e'?Rph;PYKGrq9 R^?Fٷt ?)4߄^~L˟!t}5\OfS"źZUAY)F>V6Y*ӧ?z~e\%l~,\PC]a~!xم|}?aCo}Z|w}}!Wn>ȯSYM+X>U]PC0/{lۇ& wmWۓ}ӞMO㌧> }f+_#KZ4DNP+1pP(b.?O]+^Tǁn_'8,ش,V=Ob}{ " Ay|\)O/Ŧ=c(@ߡppNXX>1^k}㞉іk-+oZ1Q: Q#[yd9{ɍPxU7""=%A6mWpZ#+xvŃ >D݆Mw-:><VZ.._?a\#z}Vtd^NN{GYC&qw=w|ra춲\]KU98zncKV^B8F~ (Ŧ9o9{u{¥XA`/xbi_G:O+\Z\peԍ_~%AH±)}.o2vo>ء=#'Ut00yroQZ]Н6cz'Wn%}L_4d#x]rd7AZwOD>F)c4ķJ̏  w+p.E]\xT$3JGW2z}vY3iB,'/6"7UAF!(%,c=FNBIQq`:n|'__VOq <\ f<,9-k LDYz9Twŋu/FY7S rjdzQ,T+bq`͎ 4 2V+|]CvG$DH&~C/u[o]6k^n:V4G5/ynmańEm$'ai%jA T9kʪWTyByi\pVb׉"ɠdtm=&٣S[*b$.*K\!ޖ\%4vҙ#2V  $x/Ye9޴k&xw6wHn7Y_,odJ\{wyTAL= WvDNA{Kc" Z Ccor+ T|Hvi%ot?ӔGXb7+?2m#EMvuDZvygL7 EP*.N{cz(]v-L"p[mkDU&vW[\vA:ޜX7*S]m{^TzRzx(ǠWGu!PX;]skR3ivJߎ1пMR][S4@!rd Zr._PQ?0왼h*2*Wn)~J9<^#j|j;p`x µdM)Wy,I"qyǙClr翪xW?3rKˢOǧ%0˕L*DdeӴJRqU[߆M]vѬ"o /** {i)^]" O}AVPNU{tU?␎M˳^~ @&[x͆x׎3Suc/XK#/''YNG/" Bxd1PFuۊSy&s˨=ü9N8M)8P?sņ^x-g/㙗‹[D+OD+Sc˜ړ,Jsyjw|0',Q-#pӵAְDGZ!.Fж2K8J\[#ƃJ@\Ȼߛ{BJw7֙ȱ\kݠI렑 qۖ0Ȼsi&[f!$c-_ǭh18Fq?3E'~xRvۯ +[GW@yIa k ^ꢜ̓ef{X$BXwuMxӼP4O-{3p4Po@EHX7fnɮ dEQF˟d5QVnOf гe ZA3]@`͈p:ŵ}XNxr1I*9,'T을p+|trWV2 飖Q 5zsqpkE7= RY.>?e-QDzr![~+˟˨`η)j{8yd az}kDSsg?\sBQޱl9d~xWwى2],Ϊ>,"CYO/2-QÏdJÆ7E+}ד@4^`OGd|j16S[fi:Hn;^R]L+$H DFE^7Q2\N,|?/`Y.ՠzz s%X5N2gK0PZHJs8uWI ZI!=T7 UFʓ Ll$C˧(؊FӷhgKl O:H*P'Nf$U[jvaUR5X&bpAޛI(iZ&cdA&̕=[#8ܺ(@}֪c~0TMיT-{'YOeR\Is6U'Hm"2@%⡂Wzb:|1K3%?utNvyw-'؏'XޅPaT8 '}e+ʭsa].|Mkws͡ ztꋩh*? 12ZZj̓8"יbP @+#¤Osճ?=Br&]!TA@ ܈&c,K?Oby btv[kHCtFF.DĬ2]:z>MY.^l(pN:8=.H (2\TNZ᥎F;+KЫ]~ZQjbڟ:|67J|'1]oY5He 4%RvyRKоRT2={߉V-r5h'7㛷C֥!m_Pz|_=؊0Fħ?T'BosVEڏt!-5\{ϫ6-\P#1x~kz^\V :c]+3 rX %=P5ɍQg% 49nA3s٧ Wjyug@t{"h:I^Ror7ZT_hQys [K,`J9T T XQBCDdR{F]ްX1~j-ko '@˂fW=MR$އ1d׺[*BQ/GٻޣIBU_ K&JO!g"縱J̼Ɵb(r8/b1`RQmT7J.&WUO[W!xIe=mLǮ#`i;0=gWFTz>h7{[$ȡ"َ }œiM7 uÕyH36Rܿbd#ވiܧ+j^y*\1{T)mel O-*PPrDOaLƸ\jŃlH:, c,?B}[ZH1PWnhp/07쵔k첨1gl@u#ԩm(g;G%y(#(ծ1[xʹچY_N^!FH0xmƾ&ٷM:UwǾǿ@->T[vN{zp4nY lm•^ųX]#kʛnRB'bƣ6- ih*;ŪA=eÝ7-1XA畵Rds9!^WeĚ*8:3 U~46W= Q?^eu'NDBe4YYYOK3ѝR[*(ϥh+dH!RkI:PXY[*vmfّYy#ڊ9'FfbY9x-\lB:gB6#ڇ$ sT`I*3K Mq(dݒGkʚxI( _ )cH ɚDPWbG͊6 x*фYp1G̯VZcyDB! =e®L;K`_{Audq=K@lI6GWJt+[lR?#ܒsD^hItꖈI۫Z7L @"EѼх!E\z!?u.p#}t]$b^5܆!/Wa(릹!L d}scJF:)fyʨgvW]2)N/Fk8ZOeq+}~Ll:0صH%KK1uÆ3_j P\,^XZ>MSђ)X[;J}|4iVE5M^+UӶz-l#k_[UpXrڰ5.Xx;ݰm@R] $GU,%]l|M1S\3aʢdTsN/0ȆEZȁrsX y6PYazzǣF=0(f}xn ڝxG+F&LW~aMq+>d\M'*O,!<͓\<՗dF±9fqz@Jp,@ dIo_gg[KEpJ?55ŏQf '9$-aDkyJKq'%^ϟ^ %NA ` rzE>t2#TAb8^:v@Eח~V|bGlqT*R F.d_,w`$tR|EM)m|qVtf:,+>;(̭&Ys s+=R(~yʭë+֑i#T ƐyD[O# VzCLfKY/lUR*=8Ɔ-71@lj^Hk6CJ+ aF rxFVt󇭆+O ںR-$9I[(]9ה )LBs̵6yWi RZyԐPkͪ(FtjVx#fiUsH`3qMxo%|R_N[~(C(Cn"O-%Sļa;0@i'5b:K젏xf %k]1Μj)?*@)hՃā[ނ|\r|5$ ӯs@B`U"W}jxr/ ڭkʵte40__&Eao_O] 0{4!5&/-;e~Tk~b10HJ4ܘl& {lHN"QU=u(!Ugp Y57mspYaZ08 /J1 %>uPeʳT\033^iw+czlbCIpWI'7JQ]Q~sW:8Q[XЋ|ƅC CC+<ܥ<7$ ێZXckJiMmS:)Cm+1olN''qur+U]bqE0DO>K]+K@\X{DnrDSiȷ"L-]Nn9pȢ[ydo׏[fMA&FQ=R#F hK}\k_AۀvX=ɞ&B[rU0<1y/};MܔG%sU (#1ά>m@#(ϴ5\;%c`(XWe7#g`sz InTH{r*z^$2eοL\4l 8Q*5 F+{]$գ'aR`%^,ӓpЌ0AM[ؑiEzAX`㱴@XkCiX9̏Y*.B![-oS:N27jʔ?#5!65#Ͻt㌺=͡.ʣhDZYTV'[M8"\cSJRA~uSV;+2#F8x@C-M]1+}\N<+UY0PE ;i맥Z/fWYQFzB-٩D5l?aR|ſȕhDgK4F@ED)r1SrWM(8dPf6hWesKSѱ_(:ן L[8T^О`IçċitȪpB1IM]!ov!{iX0Rßq;c"rRclo }UDoF۠-S|ơ;! bF;upALa!!ǯv3fƥv7#h } )aEdyѯFn# s%\#,e?`ly.ffwX[lP{ּ{; xL6Y"tBM%:3-N@/63;cqZȕƀjٺ\F8j1Y.=V_0crF+,zm$&hyN0Jq]OHf㽔Ƙý޲TY4DefCQb+AZʨQwoKM5QXcl">JTRN5 p+P{#G2-?]KyVH9jhp"RHγKzep.B"^bC9PZ͈&u ,+WclҐDsytԽ[}K '9Bfe_H69C/6m5>@Gfq}h's,7fl`n(GSr1ZX}mrp0awV pB bQLN\-޴VuH~?;l gZɋu9:9 ,>SiR (A.Fy(0Sշ[, a4=j~ZȊTPx:\#p1Lu; ?jĨ6U| l}vI!P/qECui$;m@PQ'a\,da|OX 7fmȱ?{3kO,٥ dj%^eؔ6\=Xatj\S!erF'"(&hE{">""YT'9@WT)35w.9}t-0o\Ĺ_lpz'X*T)aJ)QxQS9142p\dWm|jYd} 1 ULcFE3}iHմvGf -b>X!d(Me159,>"(yj&P{4K[,2Zi$KWRZ7E4n[KtRlNÞ\mchm: Z 544#sQ@ Uӕq1yБW/%I<#Xo^V1qL8ɥjQ>&K{:yHq>u8}Ʊ5, Jkǽ⯼a9$HIۈ>Cc5v8-\@GN]PWɡqYL q^HcЁOrsq&z}<*^5n- UC$YS{&Fh~$O }L[5{«(;NSviԄCK#DCAl̄6oH%tԡ>xI/B6ؘfetօ9wuq\@,Awi`:g|p+t% @ʴ !JZq5j݋C#7|8zv j?H8f擘l022PPJװҒLi/ #ũOF? `ım\Ij6 Q&EY5"yJ!O8c+oS.!j]:;3([I8_\8{r/ȞAN0Mi9/^>KTorLRz2yӟ̗?cD *^*p<'>QզE"Φ# N;C!HrA:kqQ*q< ˚&r8-1}tekZtz&q;'fXl<=_# lxJ_6ZU7n`lUY3\%؍.k;5 8gֶ3BC߲ʇWMá'-* ;X!27D|UWЛ^s0xpgnpN#.(RREW}BPZ+vʃdʆ3YbF?iIۋ] t`Ft태FUxe|MB ·<ƆY* ke8]*~䘲yB;&V՟ۼ`}Cbf͇~dx+m2RLS6[$Yrz Θz0H|3rm4E_@k} *ͪsfqFYb~x*R0! (LmFx" 5ӴgUl\CDŽ-Ĵtq;|YOq 4'j:PPkiAó~ɏ?1\mAv4VjHjԸ%%oQS,eyN`xVjNp\:Ts۾T0#bDE&!kO""Z";#Y[CS \4&R:2Cɗs_/5"% 0(fEuQ q;d,ln:O8]7&D% ڈg ۛDk @|.M-:XFb)7 jhdS#.jZZCXK|F1$ΚXF/_$XH*@<եy7e#I.ٸ23Kv8u \*Z+]L_qmZ|AJ[No9gAI'(T ~zP7|n92K$耮"77}YK& |_W^Y\B[mb&FG*y7…Qd՜ݣ6bl( "O%&92+r80-ۇ/9U:D)%C™NXdgX2Iu=e RA 48UƓ<[i>R$z,)sss %+Lp)+˱m|>_g4&"`E~3:$ cB l؏Q$0m"Wվ,e9ҺMDH#dME=1UrrnmʍPkј&uQ9!ΘHzRLAILz'UYA&+=3uT Lr#IjI'{y8f=ݍ .tvC*mZX0Yۼ>xTІ)zVYD- d Gl]>HX01{4Z+N!F8HGqJ,|hκ . YtVLrIw2#d(#'V"JQr@(3t:?502hϝ6(KF^ׯ\掸QE')u9ѣ1&DhIAVDW gEB];Vu7Db=LW4N{1NVUtI@^CZ^-|O-2#TY栰E Ĩ0OՊ=<b [ת؋lr ~etAmVeH:v՞WI96n0b1~ TګW!\69qD|[S]{ i ;z ۭ80eC.fa< ˌ;0$F8\:՞fc-OWy:a\t_Tgg?C29UvfL9"D;i?ZNXE7 eL Nd79ud-Ņ|ʎl"!(iWzV(?A&`)c,9@-T%}W_Z9[jJC7GGZL9l: >Av%-PӔp: 7SXwDkXE҄YL2ܶ4ΌV`7*UupO#2SaguB 3T$ӤB@1HDu*4PVKNA_Y1zP9-+O")4en \L'N!lJ?`<:MN;xTmʨH(Q. A>&K"[Ą&v]U9G^o$bfhOD.0yY%՗e d${}YE4V.fkOaP0_N(/QP`1/LFyfޭR,}MNGNRM'9~Nu{:/uu sxsɬ-gdʜl` 0Z- @#@1D۪!" Ӊ*3fY~Y,VeK&9 l!L} Wx9 ^UN%Q9u@' vUo>b)S54I>jBQ~e!؇8;v :CU🛐bj70$ NI'>f  @B0o!> 3)Z4W mbbV6?xPggy>sXIm p0Fb'Mw /:+~ C.is/IeInphH{!`AY%C 7e DW~g٧oŖb[J'ņt)̃2+lR&|NSN`p믟& e2ܰUG'YE|٧5i5i)_ot(S3{#l_I/ÌbaGKW =nPkل-+ǻ(~Vt:fū`"Jjw%jÊ$3d-M$!E(gp2eR[gu:]6=V b:+ݳZk^ԏvz2&^6 Z5'K4x?5~ R Uhq DJ9uMu;4mDNtĸZO VQ_L>n*̶S zTfU"u B [[o%pm/BӦF&A6YGULfZ􀸓EiLeϿWr @j]Nr]X Q;Z!! o˃s{YroyԚ㔧'x:h94݉4q1\\!3i̒;/*$MM#t'P~ɕ+l. `uTk1mN*8Ds^ݥ>hRێHl?h 4$Uք yOps$(udE πYy[bK^LK뻚'U=5IQ;{o{2+'<wb#hvDV-*6XgH s{uU?e&9ѽ[%fُ?rEyګ,&ɴ$O n\܋Ʃ/AL ~ь\5RqyDImචp$ן`H?F܇ ۄ?Tbe49){#تڗ@˩#;?שS]fh⥥bK>߆ZEWDvٵ6*l!I&.)Vr@uuh[<\?J{Ҫ6E)sn1987r0|% T6R1abιyЙ浙b7 Y޳2=*_"Y0ڐ xNοЫ8O({X#s*E9T߇ۇ(hg95Nmp@ךd[V@/}G+_Mz2ܽRđ7:0YAG1t%K8>ڠY.i ϨoٴR{4=g-WF9=9[6"NxYE~ʌq e<|C!uzIQ2NV(Ψ~*ƴwM3vMb#AוF"?z%6m77^t< /Ǘ%`/We0nMBtXXh~dD֢[fJo)= TL6/JUc6GD6H۸h/ׅ2hL5yݟ'FRsŏΤKhAs!PL55>̤7V{Gl޴]SBa\{yj,烙rA»189oG$AcC '{YCz?&q8(/ )|_] 7gzfU*bt6| ^v9-i6&y夼tdŕAӳy?&.e]0͛<: ?q8xOH˥hcď_L]$wL\`/N&64/]՟k%+t>R-x3 c|!F18->)CwXWeR'`% X-;ĩzʹ 500]VmRm29ɅFu~?6g Aw{)=bzmP nd\D*PhP] +@Ғv;[r{2e{S)x*\"|{I>A䟲c^JZ0?F & *Bb%/.d7S+:P\M7 |-XX&T2]y*.-])1TN9TyM6kc2YiӁ4F;A`tv&8 `m`(Pm\wrxws k8)8`dJUqsX/Fÿ |6aI՟[e?YT^tNQRr}s<&Z|~a=VdJtD oGFmB ~*c"ż G M\V3Ox. RrR:ML\/z$?=dH16C+nZ%h~=kgRNk/9'CͩLNJ~Boy*5H-KX]g32Oo 7C`Lk]POm0ih5=&=yV`5vK7c0Oqzcrڦ~LgAXx*3H`+NKίDX% [w=E@O]<8,K1YE"ōK<Y`F5 !0ܜ,[ s5}R'hy‰ԙp7@h jH9deܼxn9ߕ62Yk6˖g'VBdIq$cUNo߹,UcDDžVF{+J|$2cV3z@X$/"M8d#۫Am_Lk`\RFٵk:-:X{k.࡮x]o)]uMq!S~MLIxvi)؜j:QM KUU,;pql|JC퉙 8 SCi  `LZ J\Nmۀ+P^t۴XXm)SVg5T4N3slqX+w-KS{X詒kgI<9INf%ffIGޕSYNExW9ݘƞ2S&  G-OdFqcrxqg 9~kT Ym<ҞSOu[c8wN@+3k89ݽ뛗AP 8? @ 濯[M۬Ç0Y)rjƎpVV]o(pCF!LM^f 0 "K^5G046RN(8%XtϪ+Ւ^;F' Oֲ zorhN?\*ɠzaNd-<8?@92D7iA;NL\D5-&{% yU~BY (Gؕ3/_:+Oy}5FMG/ޒy=dd[d `}u.z\i9'<07,R9_;+='vEH.sc9U36ӆg@WW[πZk4w 2y$q%;2\_F jDl^;+$t9~O^S>|[V)Q&>0Gc>Zē+t+Jyu"d߲p'
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1