Seven. Amending the Presuppositions of a Constitution

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Acknowledgments ix
4. One. Introduction: Imperfection and Amendability 1
5. Two. How Many Times Has the United States Constitution Been Amended? (A) < 26; (B) 26; (C) 27; (D) > 27: Accounting for Constitutional Change 13
6. Three. Constitutionalism in the United States: From Theory to Politics 37
7. Four. Higher Lawmaking 63
8. Five. Popular Sovereignty and Constitutional Amendment 89
9. Six. The Plain Meaning of Article V 117
10. Seven. Amending the Presuppositions of a Constitution 145
11. Eight. Merlin’s Memory: The Past and Future Imperfect of the Once and Future Polity 163
12. Nine. The Case against Implicit Limits on the Constitutional Amending Process 191
13. Ten. The “Original” Thirteenth Amendment and the Limits to Formal Constitutional Change 215
14. Eleven. Toward a Theory of Constitutional Amendment 237
15. Twelve. The Politics of Constitutional Revision in Eastern Europe 275
16. Thirteen. Midrash: Amendment through the Molding of Meaning 307
17. Appendix: Amending Provisions of Selected New Constitutions in Eastern Europe 319
18. Contributors 325
19. Index 327