Liberty Library
of
Constitutional Classics

The following is a list of the classic books and other works on constitutional government, which we either include in our collection, or plan to add.

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  1. Submenu Library Guides -- Various analyses of key ideas and how they were advanced by some of the works in this collection.
  2. HTML Version Text Version Adobe PDF Code of Hammurabi (~1700 BCE) -- Early Mesopotamian legal code laid basis for later Hebraic and European law.
  3. HTML Version Ancient Greek and Latin Library -- Selected works on ancient history, customs and laws.
  4. HTML Version The Civil Law, tr. & ed. Samuel Parsons Scott (1932) -- Includes the classics of ancient Roman law: the Law of the Twelve Tables (450 BCE), the Institutes of Gaius (180), the Rules of Ulpian (222), the Opinions of Paulus (224), the Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian (533), which codified Roman Law, and the Constitutions of Leo.
  5. HTML Version Text Version MS Word Version "Constitution" of Medina (Dustur al-Madinah), Mohammed (622) -- Not so much a constitution as a treaty which united Muslims, Jews, Christians and pagans, in the city-state of Medina, that exhibits some principles of constitutional design.
  6. HTML Version Policraticus, John of Salisbury (1159), various translations -- Argued that citizens have the right to depose and kill tyrannical rulers.
  7. HTML Version Text Version Adobe PDF Constitutions of Clarendon (1164) -- Established rights of laymen and the church in England.
  8. HTML Version Text Version Adobe PDF Assize of Clarendon (1166) -- Defined rights and duties of courts and people in criminal cases.
  9. HTML Version Text Version Assize of Arms (1181) -- Defined rights and duties of people and militias.
  10. HTML Version Text Version Adobe PDF Image Magna Carta (1215) -- Established the principle that no one, not even the king or a lawmaker, is above the law.

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  11. HTML Version Charter of the Forest (Carta de Foresta) (1217) -- Henry III established rights of freemen to use forest resources.
  12. HTML Version Liber Augustalis, or, Constitutions of Melfi (1231) -- Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II established basic laws for the Kingdom of Sicily that provided model for later constitutions of government.
  13. HTML Version Reforms of Simon de Montfort (1258-65) -- Had he not lost his cause and died at the battle of Evesham, his reforms might have ended monarchy and established republican government four centuries before Cromwell and Lilburne.
  14. HTML Version Statute of Quo Warranto (1290) -- Codified the writ of quo warranto as a pleading in English courts, and laid the basis for the writ of habeas corpus.
  15. HTML Version Britton, (written ~1290, printed ~1530) -- Abridged, updated, more readable, and more widely used codification based on Bracton, originally in the French of the English court, reflecting changes in the law, including changes in juries.
  16. HTML Version Swiss Federal Charter (1291) -- The beginning of the Swiss federal republic that inspired Locke's notion of the social contract and the American Constitution.
  17. HTML Version Text Version Confirmatio Cartarum (1297) -- United Magna Carta to the common law by declaring that the Magna Carta could be pled in court.
  18. HTML Version Text Version Adobe PDF The Declaration of Arbroath (1320) -- Scotland's declaration of independence from England.
  19. HTML Version Text Version Adobe PDF The Prince, Niccol-- Machiavelli (1513) -- Practical advice on governance and statecraft, with thoughts on the kinds of problems any government must be able to solve to endure. Also see Selected Works.
  20. HTML Version Text Version Utopia, Thomas More (1516) -- Satirical analysis of shortcomings of his society and a vision of what could be.
  21. HTML Version Text Version PDF Version Discourses on Livy, Niccol-- Machiavelli (1517 tr. Henry Neville 1675) -- Argues for the ideal form of government being a republic based on popular consent, defended by militia. Also see Selected Works.
  22. HTML Version Text Version Relectiones, Franciscus de Victoria (lect. 1532, first pub. 1557) -- Includes De Indis and De iure belli, arguing for humane treatment of native Americans and of enemies in war. Provided the basis for the law of nations doctrine.
  23. HTML Version Text Version Discourse on Voluntary Servitude, --tienne De La Bo--tie (1548, tr. Harry Kurz 1942) -- People are ultimately responsible for their servitude, and non-violent resistance can win their freedom.
  24. HTML Version Union of Utrecht, (1579, tr. Herbert H. Rowen 1972) -- Treaty that formed the basis of the constitution of the United Provinces of the Netherlands and was the inspiration for the American Articles of Confederation.
  25. HTML Version Dutch Declaration of Independence, (Act of Abjuration, 1581, tr. Oliver Thatcher 1907) -- Inspiration for the American Declaration of Independence.
  26. HTML Version Text Version De Republica Anglorum, Thomas Smith (1565, 1583) -- Written while he was ambassador to France, describes the constitution of England under Elizabeth I in a way that indicates tendencies toward republican ideals.
  27. HTML Version Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos (Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants), "Junius Brutus" (Orig. Fr. 1581, Eng. tr. 1622, 1689) -- In 1683 it was ordered to be burned.
  28. HTML Version Text Version Six Books of the Commonwealth, Jean Bodin (~1590 tr. Richard Knolles 1606, tr. & abr. M.J. Tooley 1955) -- Originated modern ideas of sovereignty, the state, and citizenship.
  29. HTML Version  Politica, Johannes Althusius (1614, Abr. & tr. Frederick S. Carney) -- First presented a comprehensive theory of federal republicanism based on a covenantal model of human society.
  30. HTML Version Text Version Adobe PDF RTF The Mayflower Compact (1620) -- One of the first expressions of the social contract in written form.
  31. HTML Version Text Version The Law of War and Peace, Hugo Grotius (1625) -- Sets out principles of natural law and the laws of nations.
  32. HTML Version Selected Works of Francis Bacon (1620-27). Includes Novum Organum and New Atlantis. Argued for scientific approach to problems of government.
  33. HTML Version Selected Works of Edward Coke (~1628) -- Commentary on English common and statutory law, including the Institutes and the Reports.
  34. HTML Version Text Version The Petition of Right (1628) -- The objectives of the reform movement that led to the English Civil War and the deposing of Charles I.
  35. HTML Version Text Version Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639) -- The first written constitution in the Western tradition.
  36. HTML Version Text Version The Elements of Law Natural and Politic, Thomas Hobbes (1640) -- Discussion of the natural law foundations of government.
  37. HTML Version Text Version Massachusetts Body of Liberties, Excerpts (1641) -- Early written expression of the liberties asserted by the colonists in reaction to the oppressions of European governments.
  38. HTML Version Nineteen Propositions from Parliament to Charles I, and his answer, (1642) -- Parliament demanded power from the king, and he made a defense of mixed government. This was the break that led to the English Civil War.
  39. HTML Version Text Version A Plea for Religious Liberty, Roger Williams (1644) -- Early expression of the principle of religious tolerance by the founder of the colony of Rhode Island.
  40. HTML Version Lex, Rex (The Law is King), Samuel Rutherford (1644) -- Theological arguments for the rule of law over the rule of men.
  41. HTML Version Text Version On Liberty, John Winthrop (1645) -- Discusses liberties demanded by the colonists.
  42. HTML Version Text Version The Constitutional Documents of the Puritan Revolution: 1625-1660, Samuel Rawson Gardiner, ed. (1906) -- The English "commonwealth" led by Cromwell didn't endure, but many of its ideas did.
  43. HTML Version Selected Works of the Levellers and their Allies (1645-56) -- Militia leaders who sought legal reforms later sought by the American Revolution and embodied in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Includes An Agreement of the Free People of England, an early attempt at a republican constitution.
  44. HTML Version Text Version De Cive (The Citizen), Thomas Hobbes (1641-47) -- Discussion of the natural law foundations of government.
  45. HTML Version Word Version The Laws and Liberties of Massachusetts, Excerpts (Adopted 1647, published 1648) -- Codification of major parts of the common law that served as a constitution for Massachusetts into the 18th century.
  46. HTML Version Text Version Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes (1651) -- Laid basis for social contract theory, providing branching point for the theories of constitutionalism and fascism.
  47. HTML Version Selected Political Works of John Milton -- Includes Areopagitica (1644), Tenure of Kings and Magistrates (1649), and Defense of the People of England (1651).
  48. HTML Version Selected Works of James Harrington (~1656) -- Includes The Commonwealth of Oceana.
  49. HTML Version Selected Political Works of Baruch de Spinoza (1670-7) -- Includes Theologico-Political Treatise and Political Treatise.
  50. HTML Version Text Version On the Duty of Man and Citizen According to Natural Law, Samuel Pufendorf (1673, 1682 tr. Frank Gardner Moore) -- Based law and right on natural law.
  51. I HTML Version The Law of Nature and of Nations, Samuel Pufendorf (1674, tr. Basil Kennett 1703) -- Derived justice and the law of nations from natural law.
  52. HTML Version Text Version Bacon's Declaration in the Name of the People (1676) -- The manifesto of a rebellion in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon.
  53. HTML Version Text Version Habeas Corpus Act (1679) -- English Parliament established key right.
  54. HTML Version Text Version Patriarcha, Robert Filmer (1680) -- This defense of absolute monarchy provoked Locke and Sidney to write their major works.
  55. HTML Version Text Version Plato Redivivus, Henry Neville (1681) -- Argued for limits on the powers of government.
  56. HTML Version Text Version Frame of Government of Pennsylvania, William Penn (1682) -- Early model for written constitutions.
  57. Menu Selected Political Works, James Tyrrell (1681-1694) -- Inspired Locke and other political philosophers.
  58. HTML Version Text Version English Bill of Rights (1689) -- Early model for recognizing natural rights in writing. Much of its language appeared later in the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution.
  59. HTML Version Selected Works of John Locke, (1669-1690) -- Includes The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, A Letter Concerning Toleration, and Second Treatise on Government.
  60. HTML Version Text Version A Discourse of Government with Relation to Militias, Andrew Fletcher (1698) -- Analyzes importance of the militia to legitimate government, law enforcement, and national defense.
  61. HTML Version Discourses Concerning Government, Algernon Sidney (1698) -- Built principles of popular government from foundation of natural law and the social contract.
  62. HTML Version Text Version Constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy -- A model for a federal system of government for several Native American nations, it influenced Franklin's proposed Albany Plan of Union.
  63. HTML Version Text Version Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges, William Penn (1701) -- Better model adopted later.
  64. Submenu Selected Works of Walter Moyle, (~1696-1721, pub. 1796) -- Includes Constitution of the Roman State, a commentary on English constitutional issues from a Whig perspective.
  65. W HTML Version Text Version Questions of Public Law, Cornelius van Bynkershoek (1737) -- Develops the law of nations and constitutional (public) law beyond Grotius and Pufendorf.
  66. HTML Version Text Version The Principles of Natural and Politic Law, Jean Jacques Burlamaqui (1748, tr. Thomas Nugent 1752) -- Commentary on the natural law ideas of Grotius, Hobbes, Puffendorf, Barbeyrac, Locke, Clarke, and Hutchinson.
  67. HTML Version Text Version The Spirit of Laws, Charles de Montesquieu, (1748, tr. Thomas Nugent 1752) -- Laid the foundations for the theory of republican government, particularly the concepts of the separation of powers into legislative, executive, and judicial, a federal republic, representatives elected from political subdivisions, a bicameral legislature, and a system of checks and balances.
  68. Submenu Selected Essays of David Hume, (1754) -- Includes "Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth", which inspired the federal design of the U.S. Constitution.
  69. HTML Version Text Version Albany Plan of Union, Benjamin Franklin (1754) -- An early model for union that laid the foundation for what would eventually become the federal union.
  70. HTML Version Text Version In Defense of a Plan for Colonial Union, Benjamin Franklin (1754) -- Arguments in favor of the Albany Plan of Union, which was rejected as too democratic.
  71. PDF version Institutes of natural law, Thomas Rutherforth (1754, Second American ed. 1832) -- Lectures on Grotius De jure belli et pacis.
  72. HTML Version Selected Political Works of Jean Jacques Rousseau, (1754-1772) -- Includes Social Contract and A Discourse on Political Economy.
  73. HTML Version Text Version The Law of Nations, Emmerich de Vattel (1758) -- Based constitutional and civil law on the law of nations.
  74. HTML Version Text Version The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved, James Otis (1764) -- A position statement that laid the foundation for the Declaration of Independence.
  75. HTML Version Text Version Of Crimes and Punishments, Cesare Beccaria (1764) -- Set out rights of the accused in criminal proceedings. Argues for crime prevention over punishment, and against the death penalty and torture.
  76. HTML Version Text Version Virginia Resolves on the Stamp Act, Patrick Henry (1765 May 30) -- Protest of a tax without representation.
  77. HTML Version Text Version The Declaration of Rights of the Stamp Act Congress (1765) -- Asserted the position that people could not legitimately be taxed except by their elected representatives.
  78. HTML Version On the Stamp Act, James Otis (1765 December 20) -- Oration Delivered Before the Governor and Council In Boston.
  79. HTML Version Text Version The Declaratory Act (1766) -- The English Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but couldn't leave well enough alone, and adopted this statement of parliamentary supremacy over the British colonies.
  80. HTML Version  An Essay on the History of Civil Society, Adam Ferguson (1767) -- The evolution of societies and their forms of government.
  81. I Menu Camden, Mansfield and the English Constitution -- The rivalry between two British jurists helped provoke the American Revolution and shaped the evolution of the jury system in both Britain and the United States.
  82. HTML Version Letters of Junius, Unknown (1767-72) -- Letters from an English Whig and ally of Lord Camden against the efforts of Lord Mansfield to restrict the role of juries, and on other constitutional topics.
  83. HTML Version PDF Version The English Constitution, John Louis De Lolme (1771) -- Discusses separation of powers, the jury system, and habeas corpus.
  84. HTML Version Text Version The Rights of the Colonists, Samuel Adams (1772) -- The Report of the Committee of Correspondence to the Boston Town Meeting.
  85. HTML Version Sheffield Declaration (Resolves), Theodore Sedgwick (1773) -- Resolution in Massachusetts that helped pave the way to the Declaration of Independence.
  86. HTML Version Text Version Fairfax County Resolves (1774) -- Developed the issues that led to the Declaration of Independence.
  87. HTML Version Suffolk Resolves (1774) -- Developed the issues that led to the Declaration of Independence.
  88. HTML Version Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789 -- Government under the Articles of Association and Articles of Confederation.
  89. HTML Version Text Version Declaration of Colonial Rights, First Continental Congress (1774) -- Developed the principles being violated by British rule.
  90. HTML Version Text Version Articles of Association (1774) -- Protest of British acts resulted in this prelude to the Articles of Confederation.
  91. HTML Version Text Version Charlotte Town Resolves, sometimes called the Mecklenburg Resolves (May 31, 1775) -- Another step toward declaring independence.
  92. HTML Version Text Version Declaration of Taking Up Arms, Second Continental Congress (July 6, 1775) -- Last step before declaring independence.
  93. HTML Version  On Civil Liberty, Passive Obedience, and Nonresistance, Jonathan Boucher (1775) -- Urged obedience to established authority, representing statist view of constitutional principles.
  94. HTML Version Selected Writings of Thomas Paine -- Includes Common Sense (1776) and Rights of Man (1792).
  95. HTML Version Text Version The Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776) -- Further developed principles being violated by British rule, adopted as part of Virginia Constitution. Contains accepted definition of militia.
  96. HTML Version Text Version Adobe PDF Image U.S. Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) -- Classic statement of what constitutes legitimate government and under what conditions men were justified in resorting to armed revolution to change it.
  97. HTML Version Text Version Selected Political Works of Richard Price -- Includes Civil Liberty (1776) and Importance of the American Revolution (1784).
  98. HTML Version Text Version Fragment on Government, Jeremy Bentham (1776) -- Critique of natural law theory of Blackstone's Commentaries.
  99. Submenu Early State Constitutions -- State constitutions in use from independence through adoption of the U.S. Constitution, for which they served as models.
  100. HTML Version Text Version Articles of Confederation (Proposed 1777, adopted 1781) -- First attempt to form a common government for the newly independent states.
  101. HTML Version Text Version The Principles of Morals and Legislation, Jeremy Bentham (1781) -- Introduced utilitarianism, to provide a better theoretical foundation for penal statutory law than natural law theory.
  102. HTML Version Criminal Libel and the Duty of Juries, Joseph Towers (1764, 1784), Francis Maseres (1792) -- Three essays on the right of defendants, especially in criminal libel cases, to have the jury decide the law as well as the fact issues.
  103. HTML Version Selected Political Works of Immanuel Kant (~1785-95) -- Includes Metaphysics of Morals.
  104. HTML Version Text Version The Northwest Ordinance (1787) -- Model for administration of common territory not yet a part of any state.
  105. Constitutional Ratification Debates
    1. HTML Version Text Version Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, James Madison. -- These are the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia, an essential guide to interpreting the intent of the Framers.
    2. HTML Version Notes of the Secret Debates of the Federal Convention of 1787, Robert Yates. -- Record of parts of the Convention by one who later opposed ratification and wrote articles as "Brutus".
    3. HTML Version Text Version Constitution for the United States (1787) -- Annotated and linked to other documents in this collection.
    4. HTML Version Text Version The Federalist Papers, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay (1787-88) -- Arguments for ratification of the proposed Constitution.
    5. Submenu Anti-Federalist Papers (1787-89) -- Various essays criticizing the proposed Constitution and urging changes.
    6. Submenu The Debates in the Several Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, Jonathan Elliot (1836) -- A collection of documents, including proceedings of the ratifying state conventions.
    7. Submenu Documentary History of the Constitution of the United States of America, U.S. State Department (1894, 1900) -- A collection of documents, including some not in Elliot's Debates or the other works listed.
    8. Submenu Documentary History of the Bill of Rights -- From the English Bill of Rights through the proposed amendments of the state ratifying conventions to the drafts debated in Congress before adopting the final version.
    9. W Selected Essays from the Founding Period -- Lectures, newspaper articles, and sermons which reflect the understanding of constitutional issues during the founding period.
  106. I HTML Version A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, John Adams (1787-89) -- Comprehensive historical review of how various national constitutions worked, with quotes from political philosophers and historians, that influenced the Founders in their drafting of state and federal constitutions.
  107. HTML Version Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Jefferson, 1789) -- Manifesto of the French Revolution, expressing its ideals.
  108. HTML Version Selected Works of Edmund Burke (1788-92) -- Commentary on the American and French Revolutions and the political issues they raised.
  109. HTML Version A Vindication of the Rights of Men, Mary Wollstonecraft (1790) -- Response to Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France, defense of republican government.
  110. HTML Version Text Version A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Mary Wollstonecraft (1792) -- Set forth the arguments for women's rights. Mother of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the author of Frankenstein.
  111. HTML Version Tracts on Political and Other Subjects, Joseph Towers (1796) -- Followup on his earlier writings on the role of juries.
  112. Federalist-Republican Debates 1790-1800
    1. HTML Version Image Word Version [First] Report on Public Credit, Jan. 9, 1790.
    2. HTML Version Text Version Against the Constitutionality of the Bank of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, Feb. 15, 1791.
    3. HTML Version Text Version For the Constitutionality of the Bank of the United States, Alexander Hamilton, Feb. 15, 1791.
    4. HTML Version PDF Version Word Version Report on Manufactures, Alexander Hamilton, Dec. 5, 1791.
    5. HTML Version Rules for Changing a Limited Republican Government into an Unlimited Hereditary One, Philip Freneau (1792).
    6. HTML Version Text Version Farewell Address, George Washington (1796).
    7. HTML Version The Virginia Report, J.W. Randolph, ed. (1850) -- Documents and commentary arising out of the controversies attending the Alien and Sedition Acts, including the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 and 1799 and the Virginia Resolution of 1798, which set forth the "Doctrine of '98" concerning constitutional interpretation, and led to the "Revolution of 1800", the dominance of the Jeffersonians, and the demise of the Federalist Party.
    8. HTML Version Text Version First Inaugural Address, Thomas Jefferson (1801) -- Represents the triumph of the strict constructionists following the excesses represented by the Alien and Sedition Acts.
  113. Submenu Selected Works of Thomas Jefferson -- Includes complete Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Albert Ellery Bergh, ed., 19 vol. (1905).
  114. Submenu Selected Works of James Madison -- Selected writings bearing on constitutional interpretation.
  115. Submenu Tucker's Blackstone, St. George Tucker (1803) -- The Commentaries on the Laws of England by William Blackstone (1769), with additional commentaries by Tucker adapting the common law to the needs of the U.S. Constitution.
  116.  Works of James Wilson (1804) -- Includes "Lectures on Law, 1790-1792" and other writings of the Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Convention.
  117. W Dallas, Cranch and Wheaton -- Three successive collections of U.S. Supreme Court decisions covering 1789-1816.
  118. Submenu Journal of William Maclay -- Maclay served as senator from Pennslyvania from 1789 to 1791 and kept a private journal of his experiences that is highly revealing.
  119. Submenu Selections from Annals of Congress and Statutes at Large -- Records of debates and statutes in the first years of the U.S. Congress on matters of constitutional significance.
  120. PDF Version An Inquiry into the Principles and Policy of the Government of the United States, John Taylor (1814) -- A response to John Adams' A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America by a leading theorist of the Jeffersonian republicans.
  121. HTML Version Text Version Construction Construed and Constitutions Vindicated, John Taylor (1820) -- A commentary on some of the misconstructions of the Constitution by the Marshall Court.
  122. HTML Version Text Version Tyranny Unmasked, John Taylor (1821) -- An attack on the constitutionality of protective tariffs and other violations of the original understanding of the Constitution, as seen by the leading spokesman for the Jeffersonian "Old Republicans".
  123. HTML Version The Elements of the Art of Packing, As Applied to Special Juries, Particularly in Cases of Libel Law, Jeremy Bentham (written 1809, published 1821) -- Critical treatise on abuses of the English jury system and ways to reform it, which provides a historical background to practices that continue to this day. The first publisher in 1817 of excerpts from this work was prosecuted twice for doing so, and the second three times, but in each attempt, juries acquitted them.
  124. HTML Version Text Version New Views of the Constitution of the United States, John Taylor (1823) -- A discourse on the constitutional nature of the American union reflecting views of Jefferson and Madison.
  125. I  Commentaries on American Law, James Kent (1826) -- Kent's Commentaries succeeded Tucker's Blackstone by reformulating the relevant content of Blackstone's Commentaries and integrating Common Law with Constitutional Law up to that time.
  126. HTML Version Text Version A View of the Constitution, William Rawle (1829) -- Early commentary on the Constitution and how it should be interpreted. Made point that the Bill of Rights also applied to the states, something that would later be denied, then partially reassserted by the 14th Amendment and the doctrine of (selective) incorporation.
  127. Submenu Selected Works of Daniel Webster (1782-1852) -- Selected writings bearing on constitutional interpretation.
  128. Submenu Hayne-Webster Debate (1830) -- Debates between Daniel Webster, representing a broader construction of federal powers, and Robert Y. Hayne, representing strict construction and the views of John C. Calhoun.
  129. HTML Version Selected Works of John C. Calhoun, (1831) -- Includes "A Disquisition on Government" and "A Discourse on the Constitution and Government of the United States". Developed the doctrines of concurrent majority, interposition, nullification and state secession, to correct what he perceived as a defect in the design of the Constitution that permits a persistent majority to dominate all three branches of government and legislate against the interests of a minority to the point where they would consider their rights violated.
  130. W HTML Version Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, Joseph Story (1833) -- Authoritative commentaries by an early Supreme Court justice who helped shape interpretation of the Constitution for the next century.
  131. HTML Version Text Version A Brief Enquiry into the True Nature and Character of our Federal Government, ..., Abel Parker Upshur (1840, 1868) -- A review of Joseph Story's Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, arguing against some of Story's expansive interpretations of national powers.
  132. HTML Version Text Version Seneca Falls Declaration, Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1848). -- Manifesto of the women's equality movement.
  133. HTML Version Text Version Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau (1849) -- Discusses duty of individuals to resist government excesses.
  134. HTML Version Selected Works of Frederick Bastiat (1849-1850). Includes The Law, (1850) -- Classic treatment of one of the main challenges to the survival of democratic government.
  135. Submenu Law Dictionary, John Bouvier (1856). Also available as two self-extracting executables: Part 1 and Part 2.
  136. Submenu Selected Political Works of John Stuart Mill (~1860-9) -- Includes On Liberty, Representative Government, Utilitarianism, and The Subjection of Women.
  137. I Submenu Documents and Commentary on Slavery, the Confederate States of America, and the 1861-65 War of Secession.
  138. Submenu Text Version The American Republic: its Constitution, Tendencies, and Destiny, O. A. Brownson (1866) -- Argument against secession, distinguishes the constitution of government from the underlying constitution of the society, and territorial from socialistic or egoistic democracy.
  139. PDF Version A Treatise on the Constitutional Limitations Which Rest Upon the Legislative Powers of The States of the American Union, Thomas M. Cooley (1868) -- Commentary reflecting constitutional thought at the time.
  140. PDF Version HTML Version The General Principles of Constitutional Law in the United States of America, Thomas M. Cooley (1891) -- Introduction by the leading constitutional scholar of his era.
  141. HTML Version Text Version The Evolution of the Constitution of the United States, Sydney George Fisher (1897). Traces each of the clauses of the U.S. Constitution back to previous colonial, state and other government documents.
  142. HTML Version PDF Version Select Documents of English Constitutional History, George Burton Adams and H. Morse Stephens (1904) -- Collection of excerpts from the main documents that comprise the English "constitution".
  143. HTML Version PDF Version Text Version The Grand Jury, George J. Edwards (1906) -- Classic treatise on the grand jury, unequalled to this day.
  144. HTML Version Text Version Federal Usurpation, Franklin Pierce (1908) -- Historical and constitutional analysis of how corruption, zealotry, and incompetence combined to violate the Constitution.
  145. HTML Version Text Version State Documents on Federal Relations, Herman V. Ames (1911) -- Debates among the states on the Constitution, 1789-1861.
  146. HTML Version Word Version Text Version Zipped WordPerfect Robert's Rules of Order Revised, Henry Robert (1915) -- Essential manual for parliamentarians of deliberative assemblies.
  147. HTML Version Text Version Constitutional Conventions, Roger Sherman Hoar (1917) -- Treatise on the way a body politic manifests its sovereignty.
  148. HTML Version Text Version Recent Changes in American Constitutional Theory, John W. Burgess (1923) -- Constitutional scholar surveys departures from constitutional compliance from 1898 through 1920.
  149. HTML Version Text Version The Revival of Natural Law Concepts, Charles Grove Haines (1930) -- Review of natural law theory as the foundation of constitutional law.
  150. HTML Version Sources of English Constitutional History: 600-1937, Carl Stephenson & Frederick George Marcham (1937) -- Collection of the documents that define the English "constitution".
  151. HTML Version Union Now, Clarence K. Streit (1939) -- Classic treatise on international conflict and federalism.
  152. HTML Version Text Version Constitutionalism: Ancient and Modern, Charles Howard McIlwain (1947) -- Discourse on the origins and development of constitution theory.
  153. HTML Version The Origins of Modern Constitutionalism, Francis D. Wormuth (1949) -- Historical analysis of the key constitutional concepts.
  154. HTML Version Menu for text version Self-extracting executable Jurisdiction over Federal Areas within the States -- Report of the Interdepartmental Committee for the Study of Jurisdiction over Federal Areas within the States (1956).
  155. HTML Version Militia Treatises, James B. Whisker -- Standard references on the subject. Includes The Militia (1992) and The American Colonial Militia (1997).
  156. HTML Version Selected Works on Tyranny -- To understand the principles of constitutional republican government, one must understand the principles of its opposite.
  157. Submenu Trials of Liberty -- Some of the best expositions of law and constitutional principles are made during trials.
  158. Submenu Landmark Court Decisions -- Includes commentaries on the rulings and the opinions.
  159. Submenu Constitutional History & Commentary -- Books, anthologies, and essays.
  160. Submenu History & Economics Background -- Books, anthologies, and essays.
  161. Submenu Legal Briefs Collection -- Organized by subject.
  162. Submenu Law Review Article Collection -- Organized by subject.
  163. Submenu Common Law Writs -- Sometimes called Extraordinary Remedies, they are key to understanding the Constitution.
  164. Submenu U.S. State Constitutions and Web Sites
  165. Submenu National Constitutions -- The supreme laws of many of the most important countries, for comparative analysis.

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Original date: 1997/08/25 --