This book argues that the Constitution has a dual nature. The first
aspect, on which legal scholars have focused, is the degree to
which the Constitution acts as a binding set of rules that can be
neutrally interpreted and externally enforced by the courts against
government actors. This is the process of constitutional
interpretation. But according to Keith Whittington, the
Constitution also permeates politics itself, to guide and constrain
political actors in the very process of making public policy. In so
doing, it is also dependent on political actors, both to formulate
authoritative constitutional requirements and to enforce those
fundamental settlements in the future. Whittington characterizes
this process, by which constitutional meaning is shaped within
politics at the same time that politics is shaped by the
Constitution, as one of construction as opposed to interpretation.
Whittington goes on to argue that ambiguities in the
constitutional text and changes in the political situation push
political actors to construct their own constitutional
understanding. The construction of constitutional meaning is a
necessary part of the political process and a regular part of our
nation's history, how a democracy lives with a written
constitution. The Constitution both binds and empowers government
officials. Whittington develops his argument through intensive
analysis of four important cases: the impeachments of Justice
Samuel Chase and President Andrew Johnson, the nullification
crisis, and reforms of presidential-congressional relations during
the Nixon presidency.
General
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