LEADER 03664nam 2200673 a 450 001 9910457779603321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a0-674-06081-4 024 7 $a10.4159/harvard.9780674060814 035 $a(CKB)2550000000048081 035 $a(OCoLC)754841341 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10496847 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000535362 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11329830 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000535362 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10522230 035 $a(PQKB)11326972 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3300971 035 $a(DE-B1597)178161 035 $a(OCoLC)1002232398 035 $a(OCoLC)1004874639 035 $a(OCoLC)1011461369 035 $a(OCoLC)979904467 035 $a(OCoLC)984641766 035 $a(OCoLC)987932049 035 $a(OCoLC)992471027 035 $a(OCoLC)999371727 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780674060814 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3300971 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10496847 035 $a(OCoLC)923117405 035 $a(EXLCZ)992550000000048081 100 $a20101105d2011 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aConstitutional redemption$b[electronic resource] $epolitical faith in an unjust world /$fJack M. Balkin 210 $aCambridge, Mass $cHarvard University Press$d2011 215 $a1 online resource (305 p.) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 $a0-674-05874-7 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $aFaith and story in American constitutional law -- Just a story -- Legitimacy and faith -- Idolatry and faith -- Fidelity and faith -- The law of equality is the law of inequality -- Wrong the day it was decided -- How I became an originalist. 330 $aPolitical constitutions, hammered out by imperfect human beings in periods of intense political controversy, are always compromises with injustice. What makes the U.S. Constitution legitimate, argues this daring book, is Americans' enduring faith that the Constitution's promises can someday be redeemed, and the constitutional system be made "a more perfect union."A leading constitutional theorist, Balkin argues eloquently that the American constitutional project is based in faith, hope, and a narrative of shared redemption. Our belief that the Constitution will deliver us from evil shows in the stories we tell one another about where our country came from and where it is headed, and in the way we use these historical touchstones to justify our fervent (and opposed) political creeds. Because Americans have believed in a story of constitutional redemption, we have assumed the right to decide for ourselves what the Constitution means, and have worked to persuade others to set it on the right path. As a result, constitutional principles have often shifted dramatically over time. They are, in fact, often political compromises in disguise.What will such a Constitution become? We cannot know. But our belief in the legitimacy of the Constitution requires a leap of faith-a gamble on the ultimate vindication of a political project that has already survived many follies and near-catastrophes, and whose destiny is still over the horizon. 606 $aConstitutional law$zUnited States 608 $aElectronic books. 615 0$aConstitutional law 676 $a342.73 686 $aMG 70050$2rvk 700 $aBalkin$b J. M$0320857 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910457779603321 996 $aConstitutional redemption$92457434 997 $aUNINA