Origins of the Bill of RightsOrigins of the Bill of Rights
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Book, 1999
Current format, Book, 1999, , Available .Book, 1999
Current format, Book, 1999, , Available . Offered in 0 more formats"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 and of current legal understandings of each of its provisions. 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 or restraints upon 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 or 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 ex post facto laws-- meant that all other liberties would be lost. But, Levy demonstrates, the people of the United States, aided by a persisten James Madison and by tradtions of freedom, had the good sense to support both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights."--pages 2-3 of cover.
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- New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, c1999.
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