Keynote Address

Louis H. Pollak

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1976, vol. 426, issue 1, 9-24

Abstract: The first order of business should be to consider the Constitution-in-process—how our Constitution has brought us to where we are now. Since we know America's early history only secondhand, we must try to repossess some of our past before contemplating our present and future. I propose a brief survey of the American political enterprise, as Franklin might have surveyed it 100 years after his death in 1790. He would have seen the emergence of 2 instru ments of governance of decisive importance, at the begin ning of the 19th century—the party system and judicial review. The 3 post-Civil War amendments (Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth) pointed to the horizon of freedom for the slave race and protection of their rights, but the problem facing America was how to achieve these objectives. By 1890, America was coming of age, and the Constitution of 1869, with its protection of the rich and of racist in stincts, was obsolete. Today, Vietnam and Watergate are problems overhanging America's future. We continue to look to judges to declare the fundamental values of our nation. The most important cases are those which define the purposes and processes of a free society. The issues build on one another, and so the Constitution builds; therefore, judges must take care to render reasoned opinions.

Date: 1976
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:anname:v:426:y:1976:i:1:p:9-24

DOI: 10.1177/000271627642600105

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