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 wasdrafted 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.