The Death of the United States Constitution.
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Let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution. - Thomas Jefferson.
_Who Killed the Constitution: The Fate of American Liberty from World War I to George W. Bush_, published in 2008, by Thomas E. Woods Jr. and Kevin R. C. Gutzman is a fascinating and horrifying account of the assaults on the Constitution by the federal government which have ultimately led to the destruction of the ideals embodied in this document by America's Founding Fathers. This account reveals through twelve case studies how systematically the Constitution has been re-interpreted by the federal government so as to give it nearly unlimited power. The authors maintain that at the present time the Constitution is quite literally dead and is all too often simply ignored by government officials who have found ways to go around it. While the Constitution was originally intended by the Founding Fathers to limit the scope of government and to ensure the protection of the rights of the people, the authors maintain that it has ultimately failed in this purpose. Perhaps we can understand this simply by the fact that if it is the federal government doing the interpretation of the Constitution, then it only makes sense that over time it will allot more and more powers to itself. Such arguments were made by the individualist anarchist Lysander Spooner in the period following the Civil War. However, the authors do not deceive the reader with false hope for the restoration of the Constitution, noting that in many ways the project behind it has failed and that what remains to be done next ultimately will be the decision of the American people.
This book begins with an Introduction entitled "The Constitution is Dead" which explains how judicial activism has destroyed the Constitution. The authors maintain that while attacks on judicial activism from the political right against the left are well founded, the political right is equally guilty of the same sort of disregard for the Constitution. The authors note how under the presidency of George W. Bush, disregard for the Constitution by the executive branch has reached unprecedented levels. The authors thus maintain that the Constitution is dead and is freely disregarded by the federal government. By presenting twelve separate cases in which federal judges overrode the constraints of the Constitution, the authors will attempt to make their point. The authors also attempt to show why the Constitution matters in that it is an effort to constrain the federal government.
The authors present the following cases in chapters entitled:
Congress Shall Make No Law (Unless It Really Wants To): Woodrow Wilson and Freedom of Speech - showing the erosion of freedom of speech and civil liberties in time of war beginning with World War I and showing that by use of a false analogy ("yelling fire in a crowded theater" which actually would concern property rights and not "free speech") the rights to free speech were taken away.
Another "Great President" Versus the Constitution: Harry Truman Seizes the Steel Mills - showing how Harry Truman seized the steel mills to fund his war efforts in Korea contrary to the Constitution and thus greatly increased the power of the executive branch which was feared by the Founders.
The Third Rail of American Jurisprudence: Brown v. Board of Education - dares to challenge the constitutionality of this landmark decision showing how just because a decision may seem right it may not be constitutional and showing some of the problems that ensued because of this decision.
Discriminating to End . . . Discrimination: The Forced Busing Fiascos - shows how efforts by liberal social engineers to eliminate racial discrimination in fact resulted in more discrimination and great harm for racial relations generally as well as a lowering of educational standards.
Roads to Nowhere - challenges Congressional pork barrel projects and ultimately uses this to challenge the constitutionality of Eisenhower's Interstate Highway System which was sold to the people as being necessary for "national defense".
The Great Gold Robbery of 1933 - shows how FDR seized the gold of the American people in an effort to supposedly "fight the depression" and never returned it and further challenges the constitutionality of the Federal Reserve system and the loss of the gold standard.
The Court's "Wall of Separation": Banning Prayer From Public Schools - refutes the myth of "separation of church and state" and shows how this myth arose from Protestant nativism and anti-Catholicism and the Ku Klux Klan arguing that this myth was used to crush the rights of states.
The Power to Draft - shows how the Founders were against the draft as an implement of tyranny, arguing that the draft violates the Thirteenth Amendment.
Do Americans Have a Constitutional Duty to Suffer? The Case of Medical Marijuana - shows how the case of medical marijuana further undermines the rights of states and that through interpretations of the commerce clause the federal government has given itself near unlimited power.
From Chief Executive to Prince: The Presidency and Foreign Policy - argues that the executive branch has increased enormously in power and that the Founders' distrust of a central executive has been disregarded. Further shows how the presidency originally was not intended to set American foreign policy to such a degree as is now done.
The Phony Case for Presidential War Power - shows how the president has seized the power to declare war from the Congress and that this is blatantly un-constitutional; in particular, shows that Bush's activities in fighting the supposed War on Terror (including illegal wire-tapping and torture) are in blatant disregard to the Constitution and shows the failure of the modern day conservative movement in opposing such things.
The President Enforces the Law . . . Right? - shows how the president has abused his veto power by picking and choosing which parts of a bill he will enforce through the addition of signing statements (abused to an extraordinary degree by President Bush) and maintains that if conservatives are not "conserving" the Constitution then in fact they are conserving nothing at all.
The book ends with a Conclusion entitled "Can Anything Be Done?" which maintains again that the Constitution is dead and is freely disregarded by the federal government. The authors also cast aspersion on the infamous Roe v. Wade decision which they argue was decided wrongly. The authors note that restoration of the Constitution is really a non-partisan issue in that both left and right wings have abused their powers. However, ultimately the problem may be deeper than this in that if the federal government is interpreting the Constitution it only makes sense that over time it will give itself more and more powers. The authors note that as the Virginian John Taylor of Caroline noted "the problem is not the character of members of one party or the other, one section of the country or the other, but the effect of power on the human ego, regardless of party or section". The authors conclude that despite this fact, the Constitution may still serve as a "useful bludgeon to employ against government power grabs", but what ultimately becomes of the republic will be up to the American people.
The book ends with an Appendix which provides the full text of the "Constitution of the United States" complete with all the Amendments.
This book offers a disturbing picture of what has happened to the American republic and is a useful remedy against those who argue for a "living Constitution". Indeed, if the Constitution is "living", then it is already dead because it has no power to restrain the federal government. As can be seen, over time the federal government has given itself more and more powers and thus the ideals of the Founders have been long since forgotten. What remains to be done is difficult to say.
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