Book contents
- Originalism’s Promise
- Originalism’s Promise
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I A Description of Originalism
- 1 A Brief History of Originalism in American Constitutional Interpretation
- 2 The Constitutional Communication Model of Originalism
- Part II Originalism Is the Best Explanation of Our Existing Constitutional Practice and the Most Normatively Attractive Theory of Constitutional Interpretation
- Conclusion
- Index
1 - A Brief History of Originalism in American Constitutional Interpretation
from Part I - A Description of Originalism
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 July 2019
- Originalism’s Promise
- Originalism’s Promise
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I A Description of Originalism
- 1 A Brief History of Originalism in American Constitutional Interpretation
- 2 The Constitutional Communication Model of Originalism
- Part II Originalism Is the Best Explanation of Our Existing Constitutional Practice and the Most Normatively Attractive Theory of Constitutional Interpretation
- Conclusion
- Index
Summary
The history of American constitutional interpretation has largely been an originalist one. At the Founding, the Framers and Ratifiers employed originalism when debating, drafting, and authorizing the Constitution. They did so against a background of originalist conventions of legal interpretation. Throughout the nineteenth century and – though subject to greater criticism and exceptions – up to the New Deal, originalism continued to be the dominant method of constitutional interpretation.
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- Chapter
- Information
- Originalism's PromiseA Natural Law Account of the American Constitution, pp. 9 - 42Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019