Jack N. Rakove is Coe Professor of History and American Studies and professor (by courtesy) of political science
at Stanford University. His scholarly work concentrates on the creation of a national policy in Revolutionary America,
the problem of ascertaining the "original meaning" on the Constitution, and the political career and
thinking of James Madison. His most recent book, Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution
(1996), won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize in history. Rakove's other works include James Madison and the Creation of
the American Republic (1990), Interpreting the Constitution: The Debate over Original Intent (1990), and The Beginnings
of National Politics: An Interpretative History of the Continental Congress (1979). He contributes to numerous
scholarly and legal journals and lectures both in the United States and abroad.
Summary
Jack N. Rakove is Coe Professor of History and American Studies and professor (by courtesy) of political science
at Stanford University. His scholarly work concentrates on the creation of a national policy in Revolutionary America,
the problem of ascertaining the "original meaning" on the Constitution, and the political career and
thinking of James Madison. His most recent book, Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the
Constitution (1996), won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize in history. Rakove's other works include James Madison
and the Creation of the American Republic (1990), Interpreting the Constitution: The Debate over Original
Intent (1990), and The Beginnings of National Politics: An Interpretative History of the Continental Congress
(1979). He contributes to numerous scholarly and legal journals and lectures both in the United States and abroad.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
Introduction: Rights across the Centuries
Part I. Rights in Revolution
1. The Seventeenth-Century Background
2. Puzzles about Rights
3. The Colonists' Appeal to Rights
4. The Legacy of 1689
5. Rights in Resistance
6. Rights in the First Constitutions
Part II. The Federal Constitution and Rights
7. Madison and the Problem of Rights
8. Framing the Constitution
9. The Basic Positions Stated
10. The Anti-Federalist Case
11. The Federalist Position
12. Madison and Jefferson: The Classic Exchange
13. Framing the Bill of Rights
Epilogue: After Two Centuries
Appendices
A Constitutional Chronology (1603-1791)
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography
