The Conscience of the Constitution: The Declaration of Independence and the Right to Liberty.

AuthorKickler, Troy
PositionBook review

The Conscience of the Constitution: The Declaration of Independence and the Right to Liberty

By Timothy Sandefur

Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 2014.

Pp. ix, 201. $24.95 hardcover.

Even before the Constitution was ratified, essayists such as Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison, and George Clinton had picked up quills, dipped them into inkwells, and penned constitutional commentary on parchment. Shortly afterward, these constitutional writings--Federalists' and Antifederalists' opinions--were published in broadsides and in contemporary newspapers. The ink on the Constitution had barely dried when Americans raised questions pertaining to originalism and the Constitution's meaning.

Although many politicians today ignore and many Americans overlook the Constitution, Timothy Sandefur's latest book, The Conscience of the Constitution, is part of a recent wave of conservative/libertarian scholarship that asks questions regarding original intent, the purpose of the Constitution, and how best to defend liberty. (Representative works include Clark M. Neilly III, Terms of Engagement: How Our Courts Should Enforce the Constitution's Promise of Limited Government [New York: Encounter Books, 2013], and F. H. Buckley, The Once and Future King: The Rise of Crown Government in America [New York: Encounter Books, 2014].)

Scholars are currently interested in constitutional originalism because many have questioned the constitutionality of recent legislation, including the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and the political profiling of certain organizations by the Internal Revenue Service. So how does one determine the constitutionality of such legislation and actions or learn the original intent of the framers and the meaning of the Constitution? Sandefur argues that the primary answer is in the Declaration of Independence and the natural-rights theory that informed its drafting and approval. "[The Declaration] ... must guide our understanding of our political and legal institutions" (p. 2). It is in this document and the Constitution, Sandefur continues, that Americans learn that "all people are naturally born free, and may use that freedom to create a political and legal order that respects and protects their rights" (p. 2).

In making his case, Sandefur stresses that "liberty and order are profoundly interrelated" (p. 1). Many Americans, however, erroneously believe they are in opposition. And at times, the latter is true; too much order can actually produce tyranny, and freedom without any rules...

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