Description

Reprint of the third edition, by E. H. Bennett. Commentaries on the Constitution was the most extensive and widely discussed study of the Constitution written during the antebellum period. The first edition was published in 1833 and the second in 1851Dedicated to John Marshall, it presented a strongly Federalist interpretation. Divided into three books, it offers a strongly nationalist interpretation of the Federal constitution. Book I contains a history of the colonies and a discussion of their charters. Book II discusses the Continental Congress and analyzes the flaws that crippled the Articles of Confederation. Book III begins with a history of the Constitution and its ratification. This is followed by a brilliant line-by-line exposition of each of its articles and amendments.

"Comparing it to The Federalist, James Kent said that Story's work was "written in the same free and liberal spirit, with equal exactness and soundness of doctrine, and with great beauty and eloquence of composition.... Whoever seeks...a complete history and exposition of this branch of our jurisprudence, will have recourse to [this] work, which is written with great candor, and characterized by extended research, and a careful examination of the vital principles upon which our government reposes." -- J.G. Marvin, Legal Bibliography (1847) 669-670.

Apart from James Kent, no man has had greater influence on the development of American law than JOSEPH STORY [1779-1845]. He was Dane Professor of Law at Harvard, where he played a key role in the growth of the school and the establishment of its national eminence. Story was appointed the youngest Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1811, where he was the author of several landmark decisions, such as Martin v. Hunter's Lessee. His many books have been cited extensively, and he remains an authority today.