Constructing Civil Liberties: Discontinuities in the Development of American Constitutional Law

Extract

Constructing Civil Liberties: Discontinuities in the Development of American Constitutional Law. By Ken I. Kersch. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. 400p. $75.00 cloth, $29.99 paper.

This is a fascinating book about constitutional development in the United States that questions traditional explanations for the genesis of constitutional rights. In this erudite study, Ken Kersch offers an account of the changing interpretations of constitutional rights by analyzing landmark cases in their historical context in order to show the interplay of ideological, political, and social forces that influenced them. The book provides a careful reconsideration of the jurisprudence concerning civil rights and civil liberties that effectively challenges the conventional wisdom about individual cases. Kersch's compelling analysis demonstrates that explanations for the expansion of particular rights are often more complicated than traditional constitutional works have assumed. He argues that the expansion of constitutional rights did not occur in a unilinear and unidimensional fashion (cf, e.g., pp. 132, 360). This is a brilliant interdisciplinary study that should interest scholars in many fields, including cultural studies, history, international law, law and society, and political science. This comprehensive book is rich in historical detail and full of surprises.