The Framers' Muse on Republicanism, the Supreme Court,and Pragmatic Constitutional Interpretivism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6400768 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Dai O’brien (0000-0002-1991-756X, corresponding author), David M O''Brien, David M O'Brien |
| Year | 1991 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 251-288 |
| Publication date | 1991-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Review of Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0034-6705 • E-ISSN: 1748-6858 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0034670500014625 |
| OpenAlex | W2016430488 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 30 |
The so-called Madisonian dilemma has dominated recent debates over the role of the Supreme Court and suggested a “majoritarian paradigm” for constitutional interpretation. But a reexamination of James Madison's unique contributions to republican theory indicates that the “Madisonian dilemma” is in many ways misleading and unfaithful to his political vision. Madison, argues the author in Section I, worked a conceptual change in republican theory. Madison did so because he was convinced that republican liberty (and government) was primarily threatened by popular majorities and legislative majoritarianism in Congress and the states. For that reason, Madison advanced his well-known “naturalist” argument for republicanism and, on that basis, argued for buttressing the political architecture of republican government with “auxiliary precautions” for securing republican liberty. From Madison's reconstruction of republicanism, Section II moves to his conversion to the project of amending the Constitution with a declaration of rights and the basis he laid for the Supreme Court's role in defending republican government and liberty. Finally, Section III takes up Madison's view of the role of the Supreme Court and his articulation of a novel theory of pragmatic constitutional interpretivism
Argument (complex analysis · Constitution · Constitutional theory · Declaration of independence · Dilemma · Political science · Politics · Separation of powers · Sociology · Supreme court · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Legal and Constitutional Studies · Philosophy
The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787
The Papers of Alexander Hamilton Vol 26
The Complete Anti-Federalist
Law's Republic
What Is Republicanism, and Is It Worth Reviving?
Democracy and Distrust
Two Treatises of Government, by John Locke, Peter Laslett
The Constitution, the Courts, and Human Rights
A Preface to Democratic Theory, Expanded Edition
Democracy in America
Novus Ordo Seclorum
James Madison on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights
The Founders' Constitution
James Madison, Father of the Constitution, 1787-1800
Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787
Interest Groups in American Public Law
The Morality of Consent
Federalism as a Metaphor in the Constitutional Politics of Public Administration
Original Intent and the Framers' Constitution
Two treatises of government
The Supreme Court
Beyond the Republican Revival
The Papers of Thomas Jefferson
The Constitution as Instrument and as Symbol
James Madison on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights
James Madison, Father of the Constitution
The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,06 |
| Citation span | 1992 - 1994 (3) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |