The Oldest Constitutional Question

The Oldest Constitutional Question is a brilliant, thoughtful, and devastating critique of the doctrine of enumerated powers, and a persuasive account of the contradictory constitutional arguments invented by the Framers at the dawn of the Constitution. A splendid book. -- Mary Sarah Bilder, author of <i>Madison's Hand</i> Richard Primus’s stunning book is a landmark achievement in both the history and theory of the American constitutional order. With meticulous attention to historical sources and beautifully argued analysis, he upends many decades of conventional wisdom about the nature of national power, including the remarkably unexamined cliché that the Constitution created only a limited government of enumerated powers. No one, including members of the Supreme Court, can be truly literate about these issues without grappling with Primus’s arguments and evidence. -- Sanford Levinson, author of <i>Our Undemocratic Constitution</i> Richard Primus has produced a magnificent work of revisionist thinking about the nature of the federal union and the powers of the national government. Full of brilliant insights and remarkable reinterpretations, The Oldest Constitutional Question will make you think differently about how the Constitution works. -- Jack M. Balkin, author of <i>Living Originalism</i> The Oldest Constitutional Question brilliantly upends our official constitutional story to reframe the enumeration principle as an empowerment, rather than a limitation, of the federal government. This book is a bracingly revisionist call to recover the Founding era’s optimism about the power of government. For those who carry a copy of the Constitution in their pocket as well as those who question why we should care what the Framers thought, Primus’s book is essential reading. -- Alison L. LaCroix, author of <i>The Interbellum Constitution</i> A tour de force of powerful research and reasoning, The Oldest Constitutional Question recasts the fundamental, perennial issue of enumerated powers in a wholly new light. Upending orthodoxy, Primus argues that the gradual expansion of the powers of the federal government represents a confirmation of the original constitutional structure rather than a deviation from it. This landmark scholarly work, written with the author’s characteristic lucidity and verve, will be required reading for anyone who cares about the past and future of the Constitution. -- Noah Feldman, author of <i>The Broken Constitution</i> Few doctrines are more deeply rooted in American law than the idea that the Constitution creates a system of limited and enumerated powers. Drawing on extensive learning in both law and history, Richard Primus mounts a powerful challenge to this widely held constitutional orthodoxy. A provocation of the best kind, this book is destined to cause a stir and awaken readers from their dogmatic slumbers. -- Jonathan Gienapp, author of <i>Against Constitutional Originalism</i>