The People's Welfare

I am a little confused by what Novak means when he uses the the word "liberal."  I understand on page 22 the liberal theory that the rule of law protects the people from both "the private other and the public state." (I assume that by "private other" he is referring to unregulated capitalism-feel free to correct me if I am incorrect.)  However on page 84 he refers to the "ascendancy of liberal constitutionalism and free-market economics" as if they were complementary or connected.  To my 21st century mind, free-market economics is a conservative mantra.
Likewise, back on page one, his thesis is that the existence of extensive regulation in the nineteenth century explodes the liberal (?) myth of governance during that time.  Again, I admit to being stuck in the 21st century, but that sounds like a conservative myth to me.

THe People's Welfare

Hi All- just about to start reading The People's Welfare.  In case you are looking for a complementary reading for this book for this week, I'm presenting B. Zorina Khan's article "Justice in the Marketplace": Legal Disputes and Economic Activity on America's Northeastern Frontier.  Her article provides an interesting case study of Maine from its colonial era as part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony through its statehood in 1820.  What I found interesting was that she (or he....not sure- I will look that up) argued market transactions in colonial Maine were orderly in a "pre capitalist" or even a pre-industrial America.  The courts transitioned from hearing a majority of "moral economy" cases that involved charges of, for example, fornication, to those relating to debts, property, and economic transactions.  IN contrast to other scholarly theses that the rise of job specialization and division of labor broke down community bonds and interpersonal exchanges, Khan asserted specialization of labor led to the formalization of the legal system in Maine with trained professional lawyers where the courts, which were pretty democratic, were open to people of all socio-economic statuses to file suits.  I hope this gives everyone a glimpse into Novak's book and some things to think about for Wednesday.

Have We Been Taught Marbury v. Madison Wrong?

One of the most striking parts of Kramer's The People Themselves has been his discussion of Marbury v. Madison. As someone who has taken numerous U.S. history classes and even an American legal history course in undergrad, this is the first time I was exposed to this considerably different interpretation of the significance (or lack thereof) of Marbury. It seems that Marbury is not revolutionary, but rather reactionary. Marbury did not create, much less expand, the power of judicial review (as we teach students). Instead, Marbury defended the departmental understanding of the power of judicial review against a perceived attack by politicians.

Although this is certainly a more complex understanding of Marbury, I'm upset a little upset to know that we have oversimplified this case to such a degree. It gets included with landmark decisions like Brown v. Board of Education and Roe v. Wade, when it is really on the same level of significance (at least in my mind).

Emory Law's 2013 LAWS Annual Conference

This was just brought to my attention today, but I thought I'd share this in case anyone else was interested.

This Saturday, February 16th, is Emory's 2013 LAWS Annual Conference, and the topic is "The Changing Face of Reproductive Privacy."

It's free to attend, but you need to register in advance if you want to attend the lunch and the keynote presentation, which is going to be given by Sarah Weddington, the lead attorney who represented Roe in Roe v. Wade.

http://www.law.emory.edu/academics/conferences/2013-laws-annual-conference.html

Teaching the People Themselves

The past two weeks of reading provided a more complex understanding of American government and the Constitution.  In class, a couple of the current teachers said that this would change how they taught these topics.  As a prospective teacher (in high school), I am wondering how we can best incoporate Origianl Meanings and The People Themselves in the classroom.  Are these in depth discussions best suited for the college classroom?

The People Themselves

I just want to make sure that I understand the concept and definition of "Popular Constitutionalism."  As I understand it, it is the concept that the people, either directly or through their elected legislatures, have the final authority to interpret the constitutional or Fundemental law and not the courts.  Also the term elected legislatures could mean either federal or state bodies which would open the door to state nullification.  This of course is the opposite of Judicial Review.  Am I on the right track?
Jim

The People Themselves

I'm just wondering if I'm reading The People Themselves correctly- Kramer is arguing within his history of judicial review and popular constitutionalism that the people have given up their power of being the ultimate interpreters/enforcers of the Constitution as the courts have gained that power (judicial supremacy)?

Question: Federalism and Original Meaning

I thought it might be good to interject with a question. Federalism and judicial review are the two "great questions" of American constitutionalism. How did we get the supremacy clause? How are the boundaries between the state and the federal government supposed to be regulated? How did the Federalists' defense of the finished product differ from the Convention discussions?

Jack Rakove Interview

This is an interesting interview with Dr. Rakove.  He discusses what he believes are the most important contributions Original Meanings makes to the field.

Enjoy!

http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/1998/rakove.html

Akil Reed Amar

As people are working through our assigned readings this week I would suggest looking at Amar's book listed under the Further Readings.  I've used this text for several papers and found Amar's explanations and definitions to be useful.  The book is widely available at libraries, including the Atlanta-Fulton libraries (and if you don't live in Fulton county you can still use the system as a GSU student).  I've also found a link for a PDF of a followup called "America's Unwritten Constitution" from USC's website.
 http://lawweb.usc.edu/who/faculty/workshops/documents/Amarspaper.pdf