Constitutions and the Classics

Patterns of Constitutional Thought from Fortescue to Bentham

Edited by Denis Galligan

Unveils the history and development of Western constitutional thought
Examines the contributions of key thinkers in the UK, America, and France at critical stages of the development of constitutional thought
Multi-disciplinary approach draws from law, history, and political theory

Constitutions and the Classics

Patterns of Constitutional Thought from Fortescue to Bentham

Edited by Denis Galligan

Description

The period from the fifteenth century to the late eighteenth century was one of critical importance to British constitutionalism. Although the seeds were sown in earlier eras, it was at this point that the constitution was transformed to a system of representative parliamentary government. Changes at the practical level of the constitution were accompanied by a wealth of ideas on constitutions written from different - and often competing - perspectives. Hobbes and Locke, Harrington, Hume, and Bentham, Coke, the Levellers, and Blackstone were all engaged in the constitutional affairs of the day, and their writings influenced the direction and outcome of constitutional thought and development. They treated themes of a universal and timeless character and as such have established themselves of lasting interest and importance in the history of constitutional thought. Examining their works we can follow the shaping of contemporary ideas of constitutions, and the design of constitutional texts.

At the same time major constitutional change and upheaval were taking place in America and France. This was an era of intense discussion, examination, and constitution-making. The new nation of the United States looked to authors such as Locke, Hume, Harrington, and Sydney for guidance in their search for a new republicanism, adding to the development of constitutional thought and practice. This collection includes chapters examining the influences of Madison, Hamilton, Jefferson, and Adams. In France the influence of Rousseau was apparent in the revolutionary constitution, and Sieyes was an active participant in its discussion and design. Montesquieu and de Maistre reflected on the nature of constitutions and constitutional government, and these French writers drew on, engaged with, and challenged the British and American writers. The essays in this volume reveal a previously unexplored dynamic relationship between the authors of the three nations, explaining the intimate connection between ruler and ruled.

Constitutions and the Classics

Patterns of Constitutional Thought from Fortescue to Bentham

Edited by Denis Galligan

1. Patterns of Constitutional Thought from Fortescue to Bentham, D. J. Galligan and C. Palmer
2. Sir John Fortescue and the Political Dominium: The People, the Common Weal, and the King, M.R.L.L. Kelly
3. Edward Coke, Ian Williams
4. Constitutions in Hobbes's Science of Politics, Tom Sorell
5. The Levellers, the People, and the Constitution, D. J. Galligan
6. Locke's Contribution to the Intellectual Foundations of Modern Constitutionalism, Jean-Fabien Spitz
7. Narrative Constitutionalism and the Kinetics of James Harrington's Oceana, J. C. Davis
8. David Hume: Constitution by Convention, John Adams
9. William Blackstone and the 'free Constitution of Britain', Wilfrid Prest
10. Constitutions and the Classics: Jeremy Bentham, Philip Schofield
11. Montesquieu, Giovanni Grottanelli de'Santi
12. The General Will Constitution: Rousseau as a Constitutionalist, Ruhza Smilova
13. L'abbe de Sieyes: Champion of National Representation, Father of Constitutions, Raymond Kubben
14. 'Perfection in Imperfection': Joseph de Maistre and the Limitations of Constitutional Design, Mila Versteeg
15. James Madison's Republican Constitutionalism, Mark A. Graber
16. The Constitutional Thought of Alexander Hamilton, M.N.S. Sellers
17. Jefferson's Constitutions, Gerald Leonard
18. John Adams, Constitution Monger, David Thomas Konig
19. Thomas Paine, Richard Whatmore

Constitutions and the Classics

Patterns of Constitutional Thought from Fortescue to Bentham

Edited by Denis Galligan

Author Information

Denis Galligan, Professor of Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford and Wolfson College

Denis Galligan is Professor of Socio-Legal Studies and Director of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford. He is also a Professorial Fellow of Wolfson College, Jean Monnet Professor of European Public Law at the Universita degli Studi di Siena, and a Visiting Professor at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. His works include Law and Society (OUP, 2005).

Contributors:

John W. Adams is Adjunct Professor in Political Science at Rutgers University, and Chairman of the Foundation for Law, Justice, and Society at Wolfson College, University of Oxford.
J. C. Davis is Professor Emeritus in the School of History at the University of East Anglia.
D. J. Galligan is Professor of Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford.
Mark A. Graber is Professor of Law and Government at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
Giovanni Grottanelli de'Santi is Professor of Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Siena.
M.R.L.L. Kelly is a senior lecturer at Macquarie Law School.
David Thomas Konig is Professor of Law and Professor of History at Washington University Law.
Raymond Kubben is assistant professor in the Department for Public Law, Jurisprudence and Legal History at Tilburg University.
Gerald Leonard Is Professor Of law at the Boston University School of Law.
C. Palmer is a DPhil student at the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford.
Wilfrid Prest is Professor Emeritus at the University of Adelaide.
Philip Schofield is Professor of the History of Legal and Political thought at University College London.
M.N.S. Sellers is Regents Professor of Law and Director, Center for International & Comparative Law at the University of Baltimore.
Ruhza Smilova is a senior assistant professor at the Political Science Department of Sofia University.
Tom Sorell is Professor of Politics and Philosophy at the University of Warwick.
Jean-Fabien Spitz is Professor of Philosophy at the Panthéon-Sorbonne Université Paris 1.
Mila Versteeg is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law.
Richard Whatmore is Professor at the University of St Andrews School of History.
Ian Williams is a lecturer at University College London.