Ask most political scientists about constitutional law, and they will tell you about the Federal Constitution and its interpretation by the U.S. Supreme Court. Examine a text on American constitutional law, and you will likely find the same tendency to equate constitutional law with the U.S. Constitution. Even the recent campaign for constitutional literacy during the Bicentennial of the Constitution altogether ignored the most obvious gap in Americans' constitutional knowledge—namely, the virtually total ignorance about state constitutions.

This inattention to state constitutions and state constitutionalism is unfortunate, because state constitutions are assuming an increasing importance in American politics. They have served as the incubators for institutional innovations that are now receiving national attention. President Reagan's proposals for a balanced budget amendment and for an item veto both had their origins in state charters. Moreover, because most state constitutions can be amended relatively easily, they have provided an alternative avenue by which groups that are blocked in the legislative process can pursue political change. California's Proposition 13 is a case in point. Finally, state constitutions have furnished the basis for probably the most significant development in civil liberties law over the past two decades, namely, the rediscovery of state bills of rights as independent protections for civil liberties.