Sources in American Constitutional History

by Michael Les Benedict (Editor)

In the second revised and expanded edition of this invaluable reader, Michael Les Benedict draws together the important documents that have shaped and been shaped by the American Constitution from medieval times through the present day. It includes not only the most important Supreme Court decisions, but also key American declarations, resolutions, laws, and platforms. All these documents represent, in a sense, the formal expression of the American people's ongoing contract with each other.

The documents in the reader are organized into chapters corresponding to those in the third edition of The Blessings of Liberty: A Concise History of the Constitution of the United States. However, since they reflect the generally accepted canon of American constitutional history, they may supplement any textbook or other readings. The brief introductory headnotes provide information about the social, political, and intellectual context in which each document first appeared.

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 2, 1995

About the author

A historian specializing in Anglo-American legal history and the Civil War era, Michael Les Benedict taught at Ohio State University from 1970 until his retirement in 2005. He earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Illinois and his PhD from Rice University.