The Conscience of the Constitution

The Declaration of Independence and the Right to Liberty

Timothy Sandefur

• Publisher: Cato Institute
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781939709042
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Public Law
• Index: Law

The Conscience of the Constitution: The Declaration of Independence and the Right to Liberty documents a forgotten truth: the word "democracy" is nowhere to be found in either the Constitution or the Declaration. But it is the overemphasis of democracy by the legal community–rather than the primacy of liberty, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence–that has led to the growth of government power at the expense of individual rights. Now, more than ever, Sandefur explains, the Declaration of Independence should set the framework for interpreting our fundamental law. In the very first sentence of the Constitution, the founding fathers stated unambiguously that "liberty" is a blessing. Today, more and more Americans are realizing that their individual freedoms are being threatened by the ever-expanding scope of the government. Americans have always differed over important political issues, but some things should not be settled by majority vote. In The Conscience of the Constitution, Timothy Sandefur presents a dramatic new challenge to the status quo of constitutional law.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• 1. DEMOCRACY AND FREEDOM
• 2. THE CIVIL WAR AND THE INCOMPLETE RECONSTRUCTION
• 3. IN DEFENSE OF SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS
• 4. THE CRITICS OF SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS
• 5. JUDICIAL “ACTIVISM” AND JUDICIAL ABDICATION
• 6. CONCLUSION
• NOTES