Recovering the Lost Worlds of America's Written Constitutions

Abstract:     
"Recovering the Lost Worlds of America's Written Constitutions," originating as the sixth Brennan Lecture delivered at Oklahoma City University Law School on November 7, 2002, explores the transformation of the right of revolution in the wake of the American Revolution. The significance of displacing the singular sovereign in the person of the king with the collective sovereign of "the people," gave rise to constitutional understandings that are at odds with today's constitutionalism that emphasizes the necessity of procedural regularity to effect legitimate constitutional revision. The article explores how "circumvention" of such procedures was consistent with an earlier concept of the people who retained practical sovereignty.

Keywords: American Constitutionalism, Written Constitutions, Popular Sovereignty, Alter or Abolish Provisions, Bill of Rights, Sovereignty of the People, Constitutional Revision, Constitutional Tradition, Rule of Law, People's Sovereignty, Dorr's Rebellion, Right of Revolution

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