The Blessings of Liberty

Michael Les Benedict is a prominent American historian who taught at Ohio State University from 1970 until his retirement in 2005.

Preface
Introduction: The American Constitution and American Constitutional History





English Origins of American Constitutionalism
Colonial Origins of American Constitutionalism
The American Revolution
Establishing New State and Federal Constitutions
Constitutional Issues in the Early Republic
Judicial Review, Nationalism, and State Sovereignty
Andrew Jackson, Democracy, and “State Rights”
Slavery and the Constitution
The Constitution and the Civil War
Reconstruction and the Constitution
The Industrial State, Victorian Moralism, Laissez-Faire Constitutionalism, and State Rights
The Progressive Era
Liberal versus Conservative Constitutionalism in the 1920s
The New Deal and the Constitution
Liberal Constitutionalism
Liberal Constitutionalism and Equality
Curbing Presidential Power
The Revival of Conservative Constitutionalism
The Supreme Court and Conservative Constitutionalism
The Erosion of Constitutional Comity
The Conservative Court, the Constitution and Judicial Supremacy
Presidentialism and the Security State
Constitution Wars

NEW CHAPTER 24: Constitutional Crisis


Appendix A Articles of Confederation
Appendix B Constitution of the United States
Appendix C Justices of the United States Supreme Court
Appendix D Tables of Cases
Index