Böcker i Studies in Constitutional Democracy-serien

The idea that the three branches of US government are equal in power is taught in classrooms, proclaimed by politicians, and referenced in the media. David Siemers shows that idea is a myth, neither intended by the Founders nor true in practice. He explains how adherence to this myth normalizes a politics of gridlock.

The issue of what would come to be known as the Missouri Crisis tested the still young American republic and, some four decades later, would all but rend it asunder. This collection of essays engages the intersections of history and constitutional law, and is certain to find eager readers among historians, legal scholars, and political scientists.

Many of the original essays in this volume began as papers presented at an international conference on Constitutional Democracy. Contributors reassess and add to historians' understanding of the full scope of the causes and consequences of what came to be known as the Missouri Crisis, on a regional and national basis.

80 years ago, Lloyd Gaines's application to the University of Missouri law school was denied based on his race. Gaines and the NAACP challenged the university's decision. This is the first book to focus entirely on the Gaines case and the vital role played by the NAACP and its lawyers, including Charles Houston, known as "the man who killed Jim Crow".

Considers happiness across a variety of intellectual traditions, and focuses on its usage in two key legal texts of the Founding Era: Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England and the Declaration. In so doing, Carli Conklin makes several contributions to the fields of early American intellectual and legal history.

Drawn from the of participants in two landmark conferences, those who contributed original essays to this second of two volumes answer the Missouri 'Question', in bold fashion, challenging assumptions both old and new in the long historiography by approaching the event on its own terms.