
Against Constitutional Originalism
a historical critique
$50.78
- Paperback
368 pages
- Release Date
22 July 2025
Summary
Deconstructing Originalism: A Critique of Constitutional Interpretation
A detailed and compelling examination of how the legal theory of originalism ignores and distorts the very constitutional history from which it derives interpretive authority
“What are the chances that, in 2024, a new book could fundamentally reorient how we understand America’s founding? Jonathan Gienapp … has written such a book… . You read it, and you get vertigo… . Gienapp’s …
Book Details
ISBN-13: | 9780300284874 |
---|---|
ISBN-10: | 030028487X |
Series: | Yale Law Library Series in Legal History and Reference |
Author: | Jonathan Gienapp |
Publisher: | Yale University Press |
Imprint: | Yale University Press |
Format: | Paperback |
Number of Pages: | 368 |
Release Date: | 22 July 2025 |
Weight: | 382g |
Dimensions: | 216mm x 140mm |
You Can Find This Book In
What They're Saying
Critics Review
“What are the chances that, in 2024, a new book could fundamentally reorient how we understand America’s founding? Jonathan Gienapp … has written such a book… . You read it, and you get vertigo… . Gienapp’s book comes as a thunderclap.”—Cass Sunstein, Washington PostA History Today Book of the Year, 2024Chosen by Joy Porter for History Today “Books of the Year” 2024“Just when you thought that surely there is nothing new or interesting to say about originalism, along comes Jonathan Gienapp. Against Constitutional Originalism is a must-read. For anyone new to the debates, it provides a comprehensive presentation of the arguments on all sides. For those already familiar, he takes the debate in a new direction that is a level deeper and more foundational. In so doing, he puts advocates of the theory into a conundrum that must force some kind of reconsideration.”—Larry Kramer, author of The People Themselves“Professor Gienapp offers a new and devastating critique of originalism. Approaching originalism as an historian, he powerfully shows that originalism is a ‘contrived modern legal fiction’ that cannot be justified based on the original Constitution.”—Erwin Chemerinsky, author of Worse Than Nothing“Most critiques of originalism attack its view of how to think about what the words of the Constitution mean. Gienapp’s analysis cuts far deeper; through exquisitely careful historical research, Gienapp shows that today’s originalists have overlooked the Founders’ understanding of what the Constitution even is. Against Constitutional Originalism is the most important book in constitutional theory since John Hart Ely’s Democracy and Distrust.”—Benjamin C. Zipursky, Fordham University School of Law“This book is a crucial intervention in the long-running discourse about a method of constitutional interpretation that has gained ascendancy in recent years. Gienapp’s persuasive pushback should be read by all who are concerned about the future of American constitutional law and the American Republic.”—Annette Gordon-Reed, Harvard University“This is a critically important book about how our Constitution is read. It shakes the foundation of current practice to its core, and its conclusions will take time to be accepted by judges and lawyers. But the book will eventually change fundamentally the practice of constitutional jurisprudence. When it does, it will allow our law to become more democratically accountable—to the people who enact our laws, not the ancestors in our constitutional tradition.”—Lawrence Lessig, coauthor of How to Steal a Presidential Election
About The Author
Jonathan Gienapp
Jonathan Gienapp is associate professor of history and law at Stanford University. He has published widely on the Constitution in American life and is the author of the prizewinning The Second Creation: Fixing the American Constitution in the Founding Era.
Returns
This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.