Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T18:13:43.974Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

1 - The Framers and Contemporary Constitutional Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2021

Donald L. Drakeman
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame, Indiana
Get access

Summary

The nation’s Founders have tremendous public appeal, and advocates of originalism, such as Justice Antonin Scalia, and the living Constitution, such as David Strauss, have invoked the Founders for support in their arguments for interpretive methods that nevertheless leave the Framers out of the picture. As a result, American constitutional theory has increasingly shifted its focus away from the lawmaker’s intentions. To provide a sound basis for the process of interpretation, constitutional theory needs to return to its historical core, which is an understanding of the decision made by the lawmaker in adopting the text. As a practical matter, determining that original choice will require an inquiry into the Framers’ understandings as shown in the record of the drafts and debates.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Hollow Core of Constitutional Theory
Why We Need the Framers
, pp. 1 - 25
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×