Justice Stephen Field's Cooperative Constitution of Liberty

Liberty in Full

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Government
Cover of the book Justice Stephen Field's Cooperative Constitution of Liberty by Adam M. Carrington, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Adam M. Carrington ISBN: 9781498554442
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: June 30, 2017
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: Adam M. Carrington
ISBN: 9781498554442
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: June 30, 2017
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

This bookexamines liberty’s Constitutional meaning through the jurisprudence of Justice Stephen Field, one of the late-Nineteenth Century’s most influential Supreme Court Justices. A Lincoln appointee who served on the Court from 1863-1897, Field articulated a view of Constitutional liberty that speaks to contemporary disputes. Today, some see liberty as protection through government regulation against private oppression. Others see liberty as protection from government through limits on governmental power. Justice Field is often viewed as siding against government power to regulate, acting as a pre-cursor to the infamous “Lochner”Era of the Court. This work explains how Field instead saw both these competing conceptions of liberty as legitimate. In fact, the two cooperated toward a common end. In his opinions, Field argued that protections through and from government worked in tandem to guard fundamental individual rights. In describing this view of liberty, Field addressed key Constitutional provisions that remain a source of debate, including some of the earliest interpretations of the Due Process Clause, its relationship to state police power and civil rights, and some of the earliest assertions of a national police power through the Commerce Clause. This work furthermore addresses the underpinnings of Field’s views, namely that he grounded his reading of the Constitution in the context of the common law and the Declaration of Independence. In his principles as well as his approach, this book argues, Justice Field presents a helpful discussant in ongoing debates regarding the meaning of liberty and of the Constitution.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This bookexamines liberty’s Constitutional meaning through the jurisprudence of Justice Stephen Field, one of the late-Nineteenth Century’s most influential Supreme Court Justices. A Lincoln appointee who served on the Court from 1863-1897, Field articulated a view of Constitutional liberty that speaks to contemporary disputes. Today, some see liberty as protection through government regulation against private oppression. Others see liberty as protection from government through limits on governmental power. Justice Field is often viewed as siding against government power to regulate, acting as a pre-cursor to the infamous “Lochner”Era of the Court. This work explains how Field instead saw both these competing conceptions of liberty as legitimate. In fact, the two cooperated toward a common end. In his opinions, Field argued that protections through and from government worked in tandem to guard fundamental individual rights. In describing this view of liberty, Field addressed key Constitutional provisions that remain a source of debate, including some of the earliest interpretations of the Due Process Clause, its relationship to state police power and civil rights, and some of the earliest assertions of a national police power through the Commerce Clause. This work furthermore addresses the underpinnings of Field’s views, namely that he grounded his reading of the Constitution in the context of the common law and the Declaration of Independence. In his principles as well as his approach, this book argues, Justice Field presents a helpful discussant in ongoing debates regarding the meaning of liberty and of the Constitution.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book Contingency, Time, and Possibility by Adam M. Carrington
Cover of the book Lost and Othered Children in Contemporary Cinema by Adam M. Carrington
Cover of the book Localizing and Transnationalizing Contentious Politics by Adam M. Carrington
Cover of the book Thomas More by Adam M. Carrington
Cover of the book The Blessing of Life by Adam M. Carrington
Cover of the book Madness Unchained by Adam M. Carrington
Cover of the book Writing the Environment in Nineteenth-Century American Literature by Adam M. Carrington
Cover of the book Brahman and Dao by Adam M. Carrington
Cover of the book Culture and the Cuban State by Adam M. Carrington
Cover of the book Dynamic Détente by Adam M. Carrington
Cover of the book Latin America's Middle Class by Adam M. Carrington
Cover of the book Gays and Grays by Adam M. Carrington
Cover of the book Ecocritical Approaches to Italian Culture and Literature by Adam M. Carrington
Cover of the book Adaptation Online by Adam M. Carrington
Cover of the book Girls' Series Fiction and American Popular Culture by Adam M. Carrington
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy