A Great Power of Attorney

Understanding the Fiduciary Constitution

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, Revolutionary Period (1775-1800), Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book A Great Power of Attorney by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman, University Press of Kansas
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman ISBN: 9780700624263
Publisher: University Press of Kansas Publication: May 5, 2017
Imprint: University Press of Kansas Language: English
Author: Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
ISBN: 9780700624263
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Publication: May 5, 2017
Imprint: University Press of Kansas
Language: English

What kind of document is the United States Constitution and how does that characterization affect its meaning? Those questions are seemingly foundational for the entire enterprise of constitutional theory, but they are strangely under-examined. Legal scholars Gary Lawson and Guy Seidman propose that the Constitution, for purposes of interpretation, is a kind of fiduciary, or agency, instrument. The founding generation often spoke of the Constitution as a fiduciary document—or as a “great power of attorney,” in the words of founding-era legal giant James Iredell. Viewed against the background of fiduciary legal and political theory, which would have been familiar to the founding generation from both its education and its experience, the Constitution is best read as granting limited powers to the national government, as an agent, to manage some portion of the affairs of “We the People” and its “posterity.” What follows from this particular conception of the Constitution—and is of greater importance—is the question of whether, and how much and in what ways, the discretion of governmental agents in exercising those constitutionally granted powers is also limited by background norms of fiduciary obligation. Those norms, the authors remind us, include duties of loyalty, care, impartiality, and personal exercise. In the context of the Constitution, this has implications for everything from non-delegation to equal protection to so-called substantive due process, as well as for the scope of any implied powers claimed by the national government.

In mapping out what these imperatives might mean—such as limited discretionary power, limited implied powers, a need to engage in fair dealing with all parties, and an obligation to serve at all times the interests of the Constitution's beneficiaries—Lawson and Seidman offer a clearer picture of the original design for a limited government.

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

What kind of document is the United States Constitution and how does that characterization affect its meaning? Those questions are seemingly foundational for the entire enterprise of constitutional theory, but they are strangely under-examined. Legal scholars Gary Lawson and Guy Seidman propose that the Constitution, for purposes of interpretation, is a kind of fiduciary, or agency, instrument. The founding generation often spoke of the Constitution as a fiduciary document—or as a “great power of attorney,” in the words of founding-era legal giant James Iredell. Viewed against the background of fiduciary legal and political theory, which would have been familiar to the founding generation from both its education and its experience, the Constitution is best read as granting limited powers to the national government, as an agent, to manage some portion of the affairs of “We the People” and its “posterity.” What follows from this particular conception of the Constitution—and is of greater importance—is the question of whether, and how much and in what ways, the discretion of governmental agents in exercising those constitutionally granted powers is also limited by background norms of fiduciary obligation. Those norms, the authors remind us, include duties of loyalty, care, impartiality, and personal exercise. In the context of the Constitution, this has implications for everything from non-delegation to equal protection to so-called substantive due process, as well as for the scope of any implied powers claimed by the national government.

In mapping out what these imperatives might mean—such as limited discretionary power, limited implied powers, a need to engage in fair dealing with all parties, and an obligation to serve at all times the interests of the Constitution's beneficiaries—Lawson and Seidman offer a clearer picture of the original design for a limited government.

More books from University Press of Kansas

Cover of the book Abraham Lincoln and Liberal Democracy by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
Cover of the book Discrediting the Red Scare by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
Cover of the book The War for Korea, 1945-1950 by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
Cover of the book The Romanian Battlefront in World War I by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
Cover of the book A Season of Inquiry Revisited by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
Cover of the book Fighting Means Killing by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
Cover of the book Presidents and the American Environment by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
Cover of the book Bleeding Kansas, Bleeding Missouri by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
Cover of the book The Hunter Elite by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
Cover of the book Vindicating Andrew Jackson by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
Cover of the book Dodge City and the Birth of the Wild West by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
Cover of the book Three Roads to Magdalena by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
Cover of the book Electing FDR by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
Cover of the book Spies in the Vatican by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
Cover of the book Branding Hoover's FBI by Gary Lawson, Guy Seidman
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