The Language of Law and the Foundations of American Constitutionalism - 9780521140911

"In this fine book, Gary McDowell shows that the Constitution is our fundamental law---not our master, but our guide and mentor. Only at our peril do we try to make it our servant."---Harvey Mansfield, Harvard University

"Erudite and lucid: McDowell's book is a must-read for those who wish to understand the philosophical and linguistic roots of the originalist tradition of constitutional interpretation."-R. Kent Newmyer, University of Connecticut School of Law

"This book adds a major dimension of depth to the case for guiding judicial interpretation of the Constitution by the original intent of the framers. McDowell articulates a deeply thought-provoking meditation, informed by a fertile understanding of key foundations for originalism articulated by major figures in political philosophy, in the common law, and among the Founders themselves who shaped the theorizing that informs our constitutional order."---Thomas Pangle, University of Texas at Austin

"For several decades, Gary McDowell has been one of our most brilliant and learned students of law and political philosophy. This book is his summa, a profound defense of originalism as a moral Constitutional philosophy, a brilliant discourse on the framers and their philosophical forbears and successors, and a powerful handbook of strategy in what McDowell calls `the contemporary war for the Constitution.'This work is essential reading for anyone who cares about the Supreme Court and the Constitution, but it is more. It is, simply stated, one of this generation's most important contributions toward preserving the rule of law itself."---Stephen Presser, Northwestern University School of Law

"In this timely book, the case against the so-called `living' constitution is so powerfully argued and so clearly presented that it cannot be ignored."---Gordon S. Wood, Brown University