Bound by Our Constitution

Bound by Our Constitution PDF Author: Vivien Hart
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780691034805
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
What difference does a written constitution make to public policy? How have women workers fared in a nation bound by constitutional principles, compared with those not covered by formal, written guarantees of fair procedure or equitable outcome? To investigate these questions, Vivien Hart traces the evolution of minimum wage policies in the United States and Britain from their common origins in women's politics around 1900 to their divergent outcomes in our day. She argues, contrary to common wisdom, that the advantage has been with the American constitutional system rather than the British. Basing her analysis on primary research, Hart reconstructs legal strategies and policy decisions that revolved around the recognition of women as workers and the public definition of gender roles. Contrasting seismic shifts and expansion in American minimum wage policy with indifference and eventual abolition in Britain, she challenges preconceptions about the constraints of American constitutionalism versus British flexibility. Though constitutional requirements did block and frustrate women's attempts to gain fair wages, they also, as Hart demonstrates, created a terrain in the United States for principled debate about women, work, and the state--and a momentum for public policy--unparalleled in Britain. Hart's book should be of interest to policy, labor, women's, and legal historians, to political scientists, and to students of gender issues, law, and social policy.

Bound by Our Constitution

Bound by Our Constitution PDF Author: Vivien Hart
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780691034805
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 255

Get Book

Book Description
What difference does a written constitution make to public policy? How have women workers fared in a nation bound by constitutional principles, compared with those not covered by formal, written guarantees of fair procedure or equitable outcome? To investigate these questions, Vivien Hart traces the evolution of minimum wage policies in the United States and Britain from their common origins in women's politics around 1900 to their divergent outcomes in our day. She argues, contrary to common wisdom, that the advantage has been with the American constitutional system rather than the British. Basing her analysis on primary research, Hart reconstructs legal strategies and policy decisions that revolved around the recognition of women as workers and the public definition of gender roles. Contrasting seismic shifts and expansion in American minimum wage policy with indifference and eventual abolition in Britain, she challenges preconceptions about the constraints of American constitutionalism versus British flexibility. Though constitutional requirements did block and frustrate women's attempts to gain fair wages, they also, as Hart demonstrates, created a terrain in the United States for principled debate about women, work, and the state--and a momentum for public policy--unparalleled in Britain. Hart's book should be of interest to policy, labor, women's, and legal historians, to political scientists, and to students of gender issues, law, and social policy.

Bound by Our Constitution

Bound by Our Constitution PDF Author: Vivien Hart
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400821568
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
What difference does a written constitution make to public policy? How have women workers fared in a nation bound by constitutional principles, compared with those not covered by formal, written guarantees of fair procedure or equitable outcome? To investigate these questions, Vivien Hart traces the evolution of minimum wage policies in the United States and Britain from their common origins in women's politics around 1900 to their divergent outcomes in our day. She argues, contrary to common wisdom, that the advantage has been with the American constitutional system rather than the British. Basing her analysis on primary research, Hart reconstructs legal strategies and policy decisions that revolved around the recognition of women as workers and the public definition of gender roles. Contrasting seismic shifts and expansion in American minimum wage policy with indifference and eventual abolition in Britain, she challenges preconceptions about the constraints of American constitutionalism versus British flexibility. Though constitutional requirements did block and frustrate women's attempts to gain fair wages, they also, as Hart demonstrates, created a terrain in the United States for principled debate about women, work, and the state--and a momentum for public policy--unparalleled in Britain. Hart's book should be of interest to policy, labor, women's, and legal historians, to political scientists, and to students of gender issues, law, and social policy.

The U.S. Constitution and Other Writings

The U.S. Constitution and Other Writings PDF Author: Editors of Thunder Bay Press
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 168412106X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 544

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Book Description
“We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union . . . ” — The U.S Constitution The U.S. Constitution and Other Writings is part of the Leather-bound Classics series and is a collection of the crucial documents, speeches, and other writings that shaped the United States. In addition to the Constitution, readers can review the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Federalist Papers, important presidential speeches, and many others. Both famous and lesser-known, but equally important, Americans are represented, including Benjamin Franklin, Victoria Woodhull, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, and even the creators of the rules of baseball. The founders' inspirational and revolutionary ideals are all here, and this is a perfect volume for anyone who finds the history of America to be a fascinating and enlightening journey.

Bound by War

Bound by War PDF Author: Christopher Capozzola
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 1541618262
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Book Description
A sweeping history of America's long and fateful military relationship with the Philippines amid a century of Pacific warfare Ever since US troops occupied the Philippines in 1898, generations of Filipinos have served in and alongside the US armed forces. In Bound by War, historian Christopher Capozzola reveals this forgotten history, showing how war and military service forged an enduring, yet fraught, alliance between Americans and Filipinos. As the US military expanded in Asia, American forces confronted their Pacific rivals from Philippine bases. And from the colonial-era Philippine Scouts to post-9/11 contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, Filipinos were crucial partners in the exercise of US power. Their service reshaped Philippine society and politics and brought thousands of Filipinos to America. Telling the epic story of a century of conflict and migration, Bound by War is a fresh, definitive portrait of this uneven partnership and the two nations it transformed.

No Treason

No Treason PDF Author: Lysander Spooner
Publisher: Read Books Ltd
ISBN: 1447488903
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description
Originally published in 1870, this essay by the American anarchist and political philosopher Lysander Spooner is here reproduced. Described by Murray Rothbard as “the greatest case for anarchist political philosophy ever written”, Spooner’s lengthy essay is still referenced by anarchists and philosophers today. In it, he argues that the American Civil War violated the US Constitution, thus rendering it null and void. An indispensable read for political historians both amateur and professional alike. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The Federalist Papers

The Federalist Papers PDF Author: Alexander Hamilton
Publisher: Read Books Ltd
ISBN: 1528785878
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 455

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Book Description
Classic Books Library presents this brand new edition of “The Federalist Papers”, a collection of separate essays and articles compiled in 1788 by Alexander Hamilton. Following the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776, the governing doctrines and policies of the States lacked cohesion. “The Federalist”, as it was previously known, was constructed by American statesman Alexander Hamilton, and was intended to catalyse the ratification of the United States Constitution. Hamilton recruited fellow statesmen James Madison Jr., and John Jay to write papers for the compendium, and the three are known as some of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Alexander Hamilton (c. 1755–1804) was an American lawyer, journalist and highly influential government official. He also served as a Senior Officer in the Army between 1799-1800 and founded the Federalist Party, the system that governed the nation’s finances. His contributions to the Constitution and leadership made a significant and lasting impact on the early development of the nation of the United States.

Restoring the Lost Constitution

Restoring the Lost Constitution PDF Author: Randy E. Barnett
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691159734
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
The U.S. Constitution found in school textbooks and under glass in Washington is not the one enforced today by the Supreme Court. In Restoring the Lost Constitution, Randy Barnett argues that since the nation's founding, but especially since the 1930s, the courts have been cutting holes in the original Constitution and its amendments to eliminate the parts that protect liberty from the power of government. From the Commerce Clause, to the Necessary and Proper Clause, to the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, to the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Supreme Court has rendered each of these provisions toothless. In the process, the written Constitution has been lost. Barnett establishes the original meaning of these lost clauses and offers a practical way to restore them to their central role in constraining government: adopting a "presumption of liberty" to give the benefit of the doubt to citizens when laws restrict their rightful exercises of liberty. He also provides a new, realistic and philosophically rigorous theory of constitutional legitimacy that justifies both interpreting the Constitution according to its original meaning and, where that meaning is vague or open-ended, construing it so as to better protect the rights retained by the people. As clearly argued as it is insightful and provocative, Restoring the Lost Constitution forcefully disputes the conventional wisdom, posing a powerful challenge to which others must now respond. This updated edition features an afterword with further reflections on individual popular sovereignty, originalist interpretation, judicial engagement, and the gravitational force that original meaning has exerted on the Supreme Court in several recent cases.

America's Constitution

America's Constitution PDF Author: Akhil Reed Amar
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1588364879
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 672

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Book Description
In America’s Constitution, one of this era’s most accomplished constitutional law scholars, Akhil Reed Amar, gives the first comprehensive account of one of the world’s great political texts. Incisive, entertaining, and occasionally controversial, this “biography” of America’s framing document explains not only what the Constitution says but also why the Constitution says it. We all know this much: the Constitution is neither immutable nor perfect. Amar shows us how the story of this one relatively compact document reflects the story of America more generally. (For example, much of the Constitution, including the glorious-sounding “We the People,” was lifted from existing American legal texts, including early state constitutions.) In short, the Constitution was as much a product of its environment as it was a product of its individual creators’ inspired genius. Despite the Constitution’s flaws, its role in guiding our republic has been nothing short of amazing. Skillfully placing the document in the context of late-eighteenth-century American politics, America’s Constitution explains, for instance, whether there is anything in the Constitution that is unamendable; the reason America adopted an electoral college; why a president must be at least thirty-five years old; and why–for now, at least–only those citizens who were born under the American flag can become president. From his unique perspective, Amar also gives us unconventional wisdom about the Constitution and its significance throughout the nation’s history. For one thing, we see that the Constitution has been far more democratic than is conventionally understood. Even though the document was drafted by white landholders, a remarkably large number of citizens (by the standards of 1787) were allowed to vote up or down on it, and the document’s later amendments eventually extended the vote to virtually all Americans. We also learn that the Founders’ Constitution was far more slavocratic than many would acknowledge: the “three fifths” clause gave the South extra political clout for every slave it owned or acquired. As a result, slaveholding Virginians held the presidency all but four of the Republic’s first thirty-six years, and proslavery forces eventually came to dominate much of the federal government prior to Lincoln’s election. Ambitious, even-handed, eminently accessible, and often surprising, America’s Constitution is an indispensable work, bound to become a standard reference for any student of history and all citizens of the United States.

Acts of Congress 1789

Acts of Congress 1789 PDF Author: George Washington
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ISBN: 9781449448387
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Mount Vernon introduces replica of Acts of Congress, exquisite copy of history-making volume unveiled for library opening. It was a book that made history, owned and treasured by the man whose ideas and values shaped the founding of a nation. Purchased for $9.8 million by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, George Washington’s personal copy of the Acts of Congress captured headlines around the globe in 2012 when it set a new auction record, returning to the hands of the organization that safeguards his life and legacy. This fascinating volume is now back home at Washington’s Virginia estate, and the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association has designed a stunning reproduction—a must-have for history lovers who were captivated by the story of the book’s remarkable rescue and return. In his own personal copy of the Constitution, included in the Acts, George Washington carefully took note of the roles and responsibilities he would undertake as the first democratically elected leader of a republican government. It was not an office he sought, but one that he accepted, bending to his country’s voice “with veneration and love.” He received the vote of all sixty-nine electors making him the only unanimously elected president. The precedents that Washington established as the leader of a new nation have endured for more than 225 years, and so, too, has his personal copy of the document that served as his guide. First published in September 1789, the original volume is in remarkable condition. On the cover, still shiny gilt letters spell out the title of the book’s owner, “President of the United States,” while a decorative gold pattern adorns its spine. The inside cover bears Washington’s bookplate, a personal touch that he reserved for his most cherished volumes, and the title page bears his signature. He brought the book back to his Mount Vernon estate upon retiring from the presidency in 1797, and it remained there until his death. Since its purchase by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, tens of thousands of Washington admirers have viewed the Acts in temporary exhibitions at Mount Vernon and at all thirteen presidential libraries. Marveling at the book’s significance to the founding of the United States and at the insights it offers into the mind of its first leader, they have expressed a desire to thumb through its fragile pages to read more of Washington’s notes. This new reproduction book will enable them to do so, and to discuss and reflect upon the significance of the words with friends, family, students, and colleagues. To replicate the original volume in an authentic manner, each component of the 106-page-book is painstakingly designed to match the original. The pages are yellowed slightly to show the effects of passing centuries. Ink smudges and flourishes mimic the imperfect printing processes of the 18th century. The leather cover is aged to appear slightly worn, and the variations in its gold accents mirror the ones found on Washington’s volume. The replica also copies, line for line, Washington’s margin notes—the penciled words and neat bracket drawings that point to the duties that he considered most important. The book’s release coincides with the opening of The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon in fall 2013

On Constitutional Disobedience

On Constitutional Disobedience PDF Author: Louis Michael Seidman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199898286
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
What would the Framers of the Constitution make of multinational corporations? Nuclear weapons? Gay marriage? They led a preindustrial country, much of it dependent on slave labor, huddled on the Atlantic seaboard. The Founders saw society as essentially hierarchical, led naturally by landed gentry like themselves. Yet we still obey their commands, two centuries and one civil war later. According to Louis Michael Seidman, it's time to stop. In On Constitutional Disobedience, Seidman argues that, in order to bring our basic law up to date, it needs benign neglect. This is a highly controversial assertion. The doctrine of "original intent" may be found on the far right, but the entire political spectrum--left and right--shares a deep reverence for the Constitution. And yet, Seidman reminds us, disobedience is the original intent of the Constitution. The Philadelphia convention had gathered to amend the Articles of Confederation, not toss them out and start afresh. The "living Constitution" school tries to bridge the gap between the framers and ourselves by reinterpreting the text in light of modern society's demands. But this attempt is doomed, Seidman argues. One might stretch "due process of law" to protect an act of same-sex sodomy, yet a loyal-but-contemporary reading cannot erase the fact that the Constitution allows a candidate who lost the popular election to be seated as president. And that is only one of the gross violations of popular will enshrined in the document. Seidman systematically addresses and refutes the arguments in favor of Constitutional fealty, proposing instead that it be treated as inspiration, not a set of commands. The Constitution is, at its best, a piece of poetry to liberty and self-government. If we treat it as such, the author argues, we will make better progress in achieving both.