Federalists in the Attic
Original Intent, the Heritage Movement, and Democratic Theory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22935014 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniel Levin, Daniel L Levin (0000-0002-3004-4851, Independence University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 01 |
| Pages | 105-126 |
| Publication date | 2004-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Law & Social Inquiry (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0897-6546 • E-ISSN: 1747-4469 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1747-4469.2004.tb00331.x |
| OpenAlex | W2003024489 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 23 |
Although the United States is often criticized for its lack of historical consciousness, historicity provides a compelling rhetorical trump in constitutional argument, particularly according to advocates of original understanding jurisprudence or “originalism.” Originalism has also proven to be quite popular as a constitutional position, especially in public discourse outside academe and the courts. I argue that originalism's appeal derives from Americans' interest in heritage. Using the literature on public history, memory, and cultural studies to distinguish the cultural phenomenon of heritage from history proper, I argue that originalism, like heritage, offers the possibility of an immediate and authentic encounter with the past tied to a critique of modernism as both antidemocratic and inauthentic. Originalism portrays the federal period as a special moment of civic unity, whose virtues have been preserved by the larger public, but have been eroded among elites by modernity.
Aesthetics · Appeal · Argument (complex analysis) · Constitutional law · Democracy · Historicity (philosophy) · Jurisprudence · Modernity · Originalism · Political science · Politics · Rhetorical question · Sociology · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Historical Studies of British Isles · Law · Philosophy · Rhetoric and Communication Studies
We the People I
The living and the dead
The presence of the past
Confederates in the Attic
The American Jeremiad
The Culture of the Copy
Creating Country Music
A shared authority
The Ancient Constitution and the Feudal Law
We the People
Mickey Mouse History and Other Essays on American Memory
When Good Lockeans Go Bad
Intentionalism in Constitutional Opinions
Presence of the Past
The Cyclical Theory of History in Eighteenth Century America
The American Jeremiad
On the Symbolic and Historic Structure of an American Identity
Dyssimulation
Abraham Lincoln as Authentic Reproduction
The New History in an Old Museum
Staged Authenticity
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2023 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |