A Constitution of Our Own Making: Two hundred years of amendments have moved America's founding document almost entirely in one direction: left.

• Author: Fredrickson, Caroline
• Position: ON POLITICAL BOOKS

The People's Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union by John F. Kowal and Wilfred U. Codrington III New Press, 288 pp.

As taught in schools, the history of the U.S. Constitution is relatively straightforward. In 1787, a group of 55 men gathered in Philadelphia to debate the rules that would govern the new nation. Over four days, they hashed out the division of responsibilities between the states and the federal government, established three federal branches, and created a legislature with two chambers: the House, elected by the people; and the Senate, chosen by the states. They made compromises and decisions, especially over slavery, that have haunted the country ever since.

But as fateful and famous as those decisions were, in The People's Constitution, the legal scholars John Kowal and Wilfred Codrington argue that they are only a small slice of how America's Constitution came to be. That's because the contemporary document is defined far more by its various amendments, enacted over the course of 200 years, than it is by what happened in 1787. The delegates in Philadelphia were not its only framers; the Constitution has been shaped by the millions of Americans who have voted for, organized for, and at times literally fought for change. And according to Kowal and Codrington, the upshot of these latter-day framers' work has been immensely positive. They have made the U.S. Constitution "more democratic, more inclusive, and more responsive to the needs of a changing country." (Full disclosure: Kowal works at and Codrington is a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, where I am a senior fellow.)

The People's Constitution is structured as a chronological survey, moving from the document's original amendments--the Bill of Rights--through to today. The authors provide a chapter on each era when amendments were successfully adopted, as well as those in which the process proved too complex and difficult for reformers. With a focus on the people and strategies that changed a nation by changing its Constitution, the book offers an insightful and captivating description of the country's popular movements and the incredible challenges posed by the amendment process.

But though historical in nature, Kowal and Codrington's book has important implications for modern constitutional law. Among conservatives, it is received wisdom that the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted through concepts of either textualism...