Assessing the role of historians during the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, the author states that no "startling interpretive revisions" are likely to emerge and that historians' major function has been to defend the past against abusers, specifically strict-constructionist who adhere to the doctrine of "original…

Discusses Patrick Henry's and James Madison's opinions on how the U.S. Constitution should be constructed. Describes how Henry introduced a set of substantive objections which were shared by Antifederalists throughout the country and persuaded many Revolutionaries that the Constitution was essentially at odds with the principles of 1776. (BSR)

Assessing the historical writing inspired by the U.S. Constitution's Bicentennial, Murphy states that, although a popular audience has been reached, major historiographical breakthroughs and revisionist reconceptualizations have been disappointingly small, with the exception of Edmund Morgan's "Inventing the People." Examines the…

Presents a bibliographic essay surveying research and literature on the United States Supreme Court. Divides literature on the Court into six categories: (1) constitutional interpretation; (2) general and period histories; (3) biographies; (4) case studies; (5) judicial process; and (6) reference works. Includes a four-page bibliography. (DSK)

This guide is designed to introduce high school teachers of American history to the most recent scholarship dealing with the origins of the U.S. Constitution. Surveys of recent scholarship on constitutional origins are organized by the following topics: historiography of the Convention, the Anti-federalists, The Federalist Papers, ratification of…

Asserts that historians should not think of American Indians and white colonists as having two distinct historical experiences but "mutual history of continuous interaction and influence." Contends that European and American colonials recognized the power and subtlety of the American Indian confederacies. (CFR)

Reports on a study of the treatment of the Second Amendment in 24 secondary-level U.S. history textbooks and 8 U.S. government textbooks. Discusses inadequate and inaccurate interpretations and calls for a portrayal of the Second Amendment that reflects what the founding fathers wanted and what the courts have decided. (CFR)