The conscience of the Constitution
Subtitle: the Declaration of Independence and the right to liberty
By: Timothy Sandefur
Publisher: Cato Institute
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 199
ISBN-13: 9781939709035; 9781939709691
Subjects: Political questions and judicial power; Civil rights; Philosophy; Due process of law; Liberty
Description: "Timothy Sandefur's insightful new book provides a dramatic new challenge to the status quo of constitutional law and argues a vital truth: our Constitution was written not to empower democracy, but to secure liberty. Yet the overemphasis on democracy by today's legal community-rather than the primacy of liberty, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence-has helped expand the scope of government power at the expense of individual rights. Now, more than ever, the Declaration of Independence should be the framework for interpreting our fundamental law. It is the conscience of the Constitution."--Amazon's website.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 161-191) and index.
Table of contents: title: Democracy and freedom; title: The Civil War and the incomplete reconstruction; title: In defense of substantive due process; title: The critics of substantive due process; title: Judicial "activism" and judicial abdication; title: Conclusion.