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Table Annexed To Article: Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Constitution’ In The Federalist Papers: Semantic Values Surveyed, Peter Aschenbrenner Oct 2013

Table Annexed To Article: Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Constitution’ In The Federalist Papers: Semantic Values Surveyed, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The eighty-five Federal Papers (authors James Madison and Alexander Hamilton; John Jay contributed five) are justifiably famous as elaborations of constitutional structure and text, sans citation to the convention, understandably, since secrecy imposed by Standing Order on May 28th was continued indefinitely (at the pleasure/non-action of Congress) on September 17th. Counts on semantic value/s of ‘constitution’ and ‘constitutional’ are surveyed.


Construction And Constraint: Discussion Of Living Originalism, Lawrence B. Solum Mar 2013

Construction And Constraint: Discussion Of Living Originalism, Lawrence B. Solum

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Jack Balkin's Living Originalism raises many important questions about contemporary constitutional theory. Can and should liberals and progressives embrace originalism? Can the New Deal expansion of national legislative power be given originalist foundations? Is there a plausible originalist case for a right to reproductive autonomy and hence for the Court's decision in Roe v. Wade? Is the fact of theoretical disagreement among originalists evidence for the thesis that the originalist project is in disarray?


Table Annexed To Article: Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Constitution’ In Works Dated To 1787/88, 1790/91 And 1817-1836 Semantic Values Surveyed And Cumulated, Peter J. Aschenbrenner Jan 2013

Table Annexed To Article: Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Constitution’ In Works Dated To 1787/88, 1790/91 And 1817-1836 Semantic Values Surveyed And Cumulated, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

In the second of three articles, the works of Madison and Hamilton, from The Federalist Papers through the bank bill debate, and continuing with Madison’s post-1817 works are surveyed. Through 151 works (essays, speeches and letters) over 49 years, word counts are supplied for each value in the eleven-way grid for values of ‘constitution,’ highlighting the divergent ‘constitution’ = text and ‘constitution’ = government. The 946 uses of ‘constitution’ in 49 years in these 151 works appear in 265,859 words.


Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Constitution’ In Works Dated To 1787/88, 1790/91 And 1817-1836 Semantic Values Surveyed And Cumulated, Peter J. Aschenbrenner Jan 2013

Hamilton And Madison Deploy ‘Constitution’ In Works Dated To 1787/88, 1790/91 And 1817-1836 Semantic Values Surveyed And Cumulated, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

In the second of three articles, the works of Madison and Hamilton, from The Federalist Papers through the bank bill debate, and continuing with Madison’s post-1817 works are surveyed. Through 151 works (essays, speeches and letters) over 49 years, word counts are supplied for each value in the eleven-way grid for values of ‘constitution,’ highlighting the divergent ‘constitution’ = text and ‘constitution’ = government. The 946 uses of ‘constitution’ in 49 years in these 151 works appear in 265,859 words.


Originalism And Constitutional Construction, Lawrence B. Solum Jan 2013

Originalism And Constitutional Construction, Lawrence B. Solum

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Constitutional interpretation is the activity that discovers the communicative content or linguistic meaning of the constitutional text. Constitutional construction is the activity that determines the legal effect given the text, including doctrines of constitutional law and decisions of constitutional cases or issues by judges and other officials. The interpretation-construction distinction, frequently invoked by contemporary constitutional theorists and rooted in American legal theory in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, marks the difference between these two activities.

This article advances two central claims about constitutional construction. First, constitutional construction is ubiquitous in constitutional practice. The central warrant for this claim is conceptual: …