A Machine That Would Go of Itself: The Constitution in American Culture

by Michael Kammen

N5 Paperback. 1986. 550p 8.00x5.00x1.25. BOOK RAISING IMPORTANT ISSUES... I CANNOT THINK OF ANYONE WHO NOT LEARN MUCH BOTH NEW AND IMPORTANT IN THIS BOOK.

Genres: History, Law, Nonfiction, Politics, Political Science, American History

550 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Michael Gedaliah Kammen was a professor of American cultural history at Cornell University. He won the Pulitzer Prize (History, 1973) for his book, People of Paradox: An Inquiry Concerning the Origins of American Civilization.

Reviews

[Eric_W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those of us who revere the Constitution and particularly the Bill of Rights realize how subversive a document it can be. We all pay it lip service but many really don't understand what it means, or perhaps understand only too well. Michael Kammen in A Machine That Would Go Of Itself describes how Louis D. Oaks, the Los Angeles Chief of Police, had Upton Sinclair arrested in 1923 for reading the first three amendments to the Constitution in public. He was "kidnapped" by the police, moved to different station houses to confuse his lawyers, and held incommunicado. He was charged with "discussing, arguing, orating, and debating certain thoughts and theories, which thoughts and theories were contemptuous of the constitution of the state of California, calculated to cause hatred and contempt of the government of the United States of America." ! One suspects Chief Oakes was not fluent in the meaning of the Constitution when he took his oath.

     Sinclair was released only because a subordinate of the Chief secretly phoned an associate of Sinclair's so his lawyers could prepare a writ to get him out. Sinclair continued his meetings and helped found the Southern California branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. Chief Oakes was fired about a month later after being discovered in his car at night with a woman and a jug of whiskey.

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The wonderful thing about history is that you realize the truth of the statement, "plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose." Kammen traces the history of constitutionalism, American understanding and faith in the values of the constitution. For most of its history, Americans have reified the document while simultaneously arguing over its meaning and essence.

There are some tedious chapters about the extent to which celebrations of the Constitution received public support, but the ones that outline the ebbs and flows of Constitutional interpretation are quite fascinating.

[Tiffany Conner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Kammen is one of my favorite social historians. He has a very crisp, accessible prose whilst still remaining true to the rigor of the historical project. I'm also something of a constitutional history nerd. Don't ask. So this is one of my favorite books. Period.

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kammen's extremely detailed book looks at roughly two hundred years of American discussion and celebration of its Constitution. I found it generally dry, sometimes bogged down in details, but those interested in American cultural and political history will find a lot of value here.

[Leonardo]

Para análisis detallados sobre los conflictos internos a la Constitución, ver principalmente: Michael Kurman, A Machine That Would Go of Itself (New York: Knopf, 1986).

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Para una breve historia de las crisis de la Constitución precipitadas por la esclavitud negra desde la Convención Constituyente hasta la Guerra Civil, ver Kammen, A Machine That Would Go of Itself, pp. 96-105.

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