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Political Sciences

This guide is designed to acquaint students in POL courses and majors in Political Science with basic information resources, concepts and research strategies used by professionals in the field.

Union, Justice, Domestic tranquility, Defense, General Welfare, Liberty

Primary Sources and Reference

The Constitution Annotated.  Congress of the United States and the Library of Congress.

Analysis and interpretation of each section and clause of the Constitution with pertinent
   history and case law.

Kurland, Philip B, and Ralph Lerner. The Founders' Constitution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
   KF4502 .F68 1987 vols. 1-5. Reference Fl. 1

   A comprehensive anthology of original historical documents relating to the legal and
   historical context of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Reference Guides to the US Constitution

Constitutional Remedies

The Religion Guarantees

Prohibited Government Acts

State Sovereign Immunity

Privileges and Immunities

Searches, Seizures, and Warrants

The Right to Assistance of Counsel

Magna Carta (1215)

Linebaugh, Peter. The Magna Carta Manifesto: Liberties and Commons for All.
   Berkeley: University Presses of California, Columbia and Princeton, 2004

Declaration of Independence (1776)

Dyer, Justin B. American Soul: The Contested Legacy of the Declaration of Independence.
   Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2012.

Jayne, Allen. Jefferson's Declaration of Independence: Origins, Philosophy, and Theology.
   Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2015.

Continental Congress and Articles of Confederation (1777)

Feinberg, Barbara Silberdick. The Articles of Confederation: The First Constitution of the United States.
   History Reference Center. Brookfield, Conn.: Twenty-First Century Books, 2002.

Smith, Paul Hubert, and Ronald M Gephart. Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774-1789.
   Washington: Library of Congress, 1976. JK 1033 .L47  26 volumes. Fl. 2

Irvin, Benjamin H. Clothed in Robes of Sovereignty: The Continental Congress and the People Out of Doors.
   Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.

The Northwest Ordinance

Williams, Frederick D. The Northwest Ordinance: Essays on Its Formulation, Provisions, and Legacy.
   East Lansing, Mich.: Michigan State University Press, 1989.

Vile, John R. Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and  Amending Issues, 1789-1995.
   Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1996.  KF 4557 .V555 1996 Reference Fl. 1

Includes key events and publications related to constitutional amendments

Bill of Rights (Amendments 1-10) [click link for full list of sources]

Bodenhamer, David J. The Bill of Rights in Modern America: After 200 Years.
   Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2008.

Garry, Patrick M. Limited Government and the Bill of Rights.
   Columbia, Mo.: University of Missouri Press, 2012.

Individual Amendments

1st Amendment

2nd Amendment

3rd Amendment

4th Amendment

Schulhofer, Stephen J. More Essential Than Ever: The Fourth Amendment in the Twenty-First Century.
   New York: Oxford University Press, 2012

5th Amendment

6th Amendment

7th Amendment

8th Amendment

Palmer, John W. Constitutional Rights of Prisoners. 9th ed. London: Routledge, 2015.

9th Amendment

Williams, Ryan C. “The Ninth Amendment As a Rule of Construction.” Columbia Law Review 111, no. 3 (2011): 498–573.

10th Amendment 

Connolly, Katherine A. “Who's Left Standing for State Sovereignty? Private Party Standing to Raise Tenth Amendment
   Claims
.” Boston College Law Review 51, no. 5 (2010): 1539–82.

The Tenth Amendment As a Limitation on the Powers of Congress.” Harvard Law Review 52, no. 8 (1939): 1342–48.

           A fascinating discussion of Depression-Era cases

11th Amendment

12th Amendment

Hawley, Joshua D. “The Transformative Twelfth Amendment.” William & Mary Law Review 55, no. 4 (2014): 1501–.

Miller, Nicholas R., and George C. Edwards. "Why the Electoral College Is Good for Political Science (and Public Choice)."
   Public Choice 150, no. 1/2 (2012): 1-25.

13th Amendment

14th Amendment

Lash, Kurt T. The Fourteenth Amendment and the Privileges and Immunities of American Citizenship. New York:
   Cambridge University Press, 2014.  KF 4558 14th .L37 2014 Fl. 2

15th Amendment

History and Impact of the Voting Rights Act: Enforcing the Fifteenth Amendment.”
    Congressional Digest
98, no. 5 (2019).

Crum, Travis. “The Superfluous Fifteenth Amendment?Northwestern University Law Review 114, no. 6
   (March 2020): 1549–1630.

Kang, Stephanie N. “Restoring the Fifteenth Amendment: The Constitutional Right to an Undiluted Vote.”
   UCLA Law Review
62, no. 5 (2015): 1392–1423.

23rd Amendment

Crockett, David A. "Dodging the Bullet: Election Mechanics and the Problem of the Twenty-Third Amendment."
   PS: Political Science and Politics
36, no. 3 (2003): 423-26.

24th Amendment

25th Amendment

Feerick, John D. The Twenty-Fifth Amendment : Its Complete History and Applications. 3rd ed.
   New York: Fordham University Press, 2014.

Constitutional Law [click for a full listing]

Duignan, Brian. The U.S. Constitution and Constitutional Law. New York: Britannica, 2013.

General Concepts, Overview

Anastaplo, George. Reflections on Constitutional Law. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 2006.

Saunders, Kevin Wall, and Michael Anthony Lawrence. Constitutional Law: Model Problems and Outstanding Answers
   New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Inalienable Rights  [click for a full listing]

Separation of Powers  [click for a full listing]

Federalism  [see also 10th Amendment]

Ryan, Erin. Federalism and the Tug of War Within. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.

Administrative Law, Regulatory Practice  [click for a full listing]

Executive Power, Privilege, etc.  [click for a full listing]

Ellis, Richard. Judging Executive Power: Sixteen Supreme Court Cases That Have Shaped the American Presidency.
   Lanham Md.: Rowman & Littefield, 2009.

Genovese, Michael A, and Robert J Spitzer. The Presidency and the Constitution: Cases and Controversies.
   EBook Central. New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

Judicial Doctrine and Political Questions  [click for a full listing]

Lovell, George I. Legislative Deferrals: Statutory Ambiguity, Judicial Power, and American Democracy.
   Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Mourtada-Sabbah, Nada. The Political Question Doctrine and the Supreme Court of the United States.
   Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2007.

Liberty

Guides to Research

Martin, Fenton S. How to Research the Supreme Court. Washington, D.C. : Congressional Quarterly, 1992.
   KF 8741.A1 M36 1992 Reference

Supreme Court Records and Correspondence  [click for a full listing]

Dickson, Del. The Supreme Court in Conference, 1940-1985 : The Private Discussions
   Behind  300 Supreme Court Decisions
. Oxford England: Oxford University Press, 2001.
   KF 8742 .S917 2000 Reference Fl. 1

Biography, History

Justice Biographies (Supreme Court)

The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Opinions. Leon
   Friedman, ed. New York : Chelsea House Publishers, 1997.  5 vols.  KF8744 .F75 1997 Reference

The William H. Renquist Court

The Earl Warren Court

The John Roberts Court

See also Sources Pertaining to Particular Constitutional Amendments

Judicial Terminology

Solan, Lawrence. The Language of Judges. Language and Legal Discourse.
   Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993.

Due Process of Law  [click for a full listing]

Sullivan, E. Thomas. The Arc of Due Process in American Constitutional Law.
   New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Equal Protection  [click for a full listing]

Tenth Circuit Holds That Stricter Ballot Initiative Signature Requirements Do Not Violate the Equal
   Protection Clause
. Semple V. Griswold, 934 F.3d 1134 (10th Cir. 2019).” Harvard Law Review 133, no. 6 (2020).

Right to Counsel  [click for a full listing]

Ossei-Owusu, Shaun. “The Sixth Amendment Facade: The Racial Evolution of the Right to Counsel.”
   University of Pennsylvania Law Review
167, no. 5 (2019): 1161–1239.

Fair Trial  [click for a full listing]

Kasper, Eric T. Impartial Justice: The Real Supreme Court Cases That Define the Constitutional Right
   to a Neutral and Detached Decisionmaker
. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2013.

Election Law  [click for a full listing]
Schultz, David A. Election Law and Democratic Theory. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2013.

Eminent Domain  [click for a full listing]

Ryskamp, John. The Eminent Domain Revolt: Changing Perceptions in a New Constitutional Epoch.
   New York: Algora Pub, 2007.

Property  [click for a full listing]

Sandefur, Timothy. Cornerstone of Liberty: Property Rights in 21st-Century America.
   Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 2006.

Judicial Impeachments

Turley, Jonathan. “Senate Trials and Factional Disputes: Impeachment as a Madisonian Device.”
   Duke Law Journal 49, no. 1 (1999): 1–146.

Privacy (including digital privacy)  [click for a full listing]

Kirtley, Jane E. Privacy Rights in the Digital Age. 2nd ed.  Amenia, NY: Grey House Publishing, 2019.

Machold, Chris. “Could Justice Gorsuch's Libertarian Fourth Amendment Be the Future of Digital Privacy?"
   U.C. Davis Law Review
53, no. 3 (2020): 1643–87.

Searches and Seizures  [click for a full listing]

LaFave, Wayne R. Search and Seizure: A Treatise on the Fourth Amendment. 4th ed.
   Criminal Practice Series. St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson/West, 2004.  KF 9630 .L26 2004 Reference Fl. 1

Judicial Review [click for a full listing of sources]

Eastman, J. C. “Judicial Review of Unenumerated Rights: Does Marbury's Holding Apply in a
   Post-Warren Court World
?” Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 28, no. 3 (2005): 713–40.

Forsyth, C. F. Judicial Review and the Constitution. Oxford: Hart Pub, 2000.

Kramer, Larry. The People Themselves: Popular Constitutionalism and Judicial Review.
   New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Lipkin, Robert Justin. Constitutional Revolutions: Pragmatism and the Role of Judicial Review
   in American Constitutionalism
. Durham: Duke University Press, 2000.

Stare decisis

Jonathan F. Mitchell. "Stare decisis and Constitutional Text." Michigan Law Review, 110, 1 (2011).

Harrison, John. 2006. “Judicial Interpretive Finality and the Constitutional Text.” Constitutional Commentary 23 (1): 33–45.

Textualism, Originalism

Kesavan, Vasan, and Michael S. Paulsen. "The Interpretive Force of the Constitution's Secret Drafting History."
   Georgetown Law Journal, 91, 1113 (2003).

Levy, Ken. "Why the Late Justice Scalia Was Wrong: The Fallacies of Constitutional Textualism."
   Lewis & Clark Law Review,
21, 45 (2017).

Severability

Shumsky, Michael D. “Severability, Inseverability, and the Rule of Law.” Harvard Journal on Legislation
   41, no. 1 (2004): 227–79.

Constitutional Doctrine  [click for a full, random list of sources]

Nondelegation Doctrine  [click for a full list of sources]

Manning, John F. “The Nondelegation Doctrine As a Canon of Avoidance. (Unconstitutionally Excessive
   Administrative Agency Discretion).
Supreme Court Review 223 (2000): 223.

Necessary and Proper clause [click for a full list of sources]

Parsons, Michael. “The Future of Federalism: A Uniform Theory of Rights and Powers for the
    Necessary and Proper Clause
.” Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy 11, no. 1 (2013): 177–256.

Constitutional Law-Cases and Decisions [click for full list of sources]

Decisions of the United States Supreme Court

United States Reports: Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Supreme Court of the United States.
  
Volumes 1-511. JU 6:  Government Documents Fl. 1

Tushnet, Mark V. I Dissent: Great Opposing Opinions in Landmark Supreme Court Cases.
   Boston: Beacon Press, 2008.

Urofsky, Melvin. Supreme Decisions: Great Constitutional Cases and Their Impact.
   New York: Westview Press, 2012.

Harrison, Maureen, US Supreme Court. Landmark Decisions of the United States Supreme Court.
   Beverly Hills, Calif.: Excellent Books, 1991.  KF 4549 .L37 Reference Fl. 1

Civil Rights Decisions of the United States Supreme Court: the 20th century.
   San Diego, Calif. : Excellent Books, 1994.  KF4745 .C58 1994  Reference Fl. 1

Civil Rights Decisions of the United States Supreme Court : The 19th Century.
   San Diego, CA: Excellent Books, 1994.  KF4748 .C57 1994  Reference Fl. 1

Judicial Opinions: Supreme Court Justices. Films Media Group, 2008.

The Constitution and Foundations of Government. Cambridge Educational, 2015.