Origins of the Bill of Rights / Leonard W. Levy.
2008
Title
Origins of the Bill of Rights / Leonard W. Levy.
Imprint
New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, [2008]
Copyright
©2008
Description
1 online resource (320 p.) : 5 b/w illus.
Series
Contemporary law series.
Formatted Contents Note
Frontmatter
Contents
Preface
Chronology
ONE Why We Have the Bill of Rights
TWO Habeas Corpus
THREE Bills of Attainder
FOUR The First Amendment: The Establishment Clause
FIVE The First Amendment: The Free Press Clause
SIX The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
SEVEN The Fourth Amendment: Search and Seizure
EIGHT The Fifth Amendment: The Right Against Self-Incrimination
NINE Double Jeopardy
TEN The Double Jury System: Grand and Petty
ELEVEN The Eighth Amendment
TWELVE The Ninth Amendment: Unenumerated Rights
Appendix: Key Documents
Bibliography
Index
Contents
Preface
Chronology
ONE Why We Have the Bill of Rights
TWO Habeas Corpus
THREE Bills of Attainder
FOUR The First Amendment: The Establishment Clause
FIVE The First Amendment: The Free Press Clause
SIX The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
SEVEN The Fourth Amendment: Search and Seizure
EIGHT The Fifth Amendment: The Right Against Self-Incrimination
NINE Double Jeopardy
TEN The Double Jury System: Grand and Petty
ELEVEN The Eighth Amendment
TWELVE The Ninth Amendment: Unenumerated Rights
Appendix: Key Documents
Bibliography
Index
Summary
Americans resorted to arms in 1775 not to establish new liberties but to defend old ones, explains constitutional historian Leonard W. Levy in this fascinating history of the origins of the Bill of Rights. Unencumbered by a rigid class system, an arbitrary government, or a single established church squelching dissent, colonial Americans understood freedom in a far more comprehensive and liberal way than the English, Levy shows. He offers here a panoramic view of the liberties secured by the first ten amendments to the Constitution-a penetrating analysis of the background of the Bill of Rights the meanings of each provision of the amendments.In colonial America, political theory, law, and religion all taught that government was limited. Yet the framing and ratification of the Bill of Rights-in effect a bill of restraints upon the national government-was by no means assured. Levy illuminates the behind-the-scenes maneuverings, public rhetoric, and political motivations that led to each provision. The omission of a bill of rights in the original constitution presented the most serious obstacle to its adoption, despite Federalist claims that a bill of rights was unnecessary. Opponents of the Constitution claimed that inclusion of only some liberties-such as the right to habeas corpus and freedom from ex post facto laws-meant that all other liberties would be lost. But, Levy demonstrates, the people of the United States, aided by a persistent James Madison and by traditions of freedom, had the good sense to support both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Language Note
In English.
System Details Note
Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
Source of Description
Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)
Location
www
In
Title is part of eBook package: YUP eBook-Package 2000-2015 De Gruyter
Title is part of eBook package: Yale University Press eBook Package 2000-2013 De Gruyter
Title is part of eBook package: Yale University Press eBook Package 2000-2013 De Gruyter
Access Note
restricted access (http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec) online access with authorization
Linked Resources
Alternate Title
DeGruyter online
Language
English
ISBN
9780300129021
Record Appears in