Commentaries on the Constitution

by Joseph Story

More than 150 years after their first publication, Story's 1833 commentaries continue to be cited by both courts and commentators. Originally published in two forms ― a three-volume treatise and a one-volume abridgement ― the one-volume work reprinted here contains all of Story's mature thoughts on the nature of constitutional adjudication, the role of the courts, and his theories on judicial review and constitutional interpretation. This book is part of the , edited by H. Jefferson Powell, Duke University School of Law. "…it would not perhaps be amiss to suggest that the most important publishing event of the [Constitution's] bicentennial year was the reappearance in print of Justice Story's own one-volume abridgement of Commentaries." ― The American Journal of Legal History

Genres: Law, History, Nonfiction, Legal, American History, Politics

780 pages, Hardcover

First published August 8, 2015

About the author

American lawyer who served on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1811 to 1845. He is most remembered for his opinions in Martin v. Hunter's Lessee and The Amistad case, and especially for his magisterial Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States.
Story opposed Jacksonian democracy, saying it was "oppression" of property rights by republican governments when popular majorities began (in the 1830s) to restrict and erode the property rights of the minority of rich men. Historians agree that Justice Joseph Story reshaped American law—as much or more than Marshall or anyone else—in a conservative direction that protected property rights.

Reviews

[Aaron Crofut · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent primer on the Federalist Party's viewpoint of the Constitution. It unintentionally obliterates the Originalist idea of interpreting the Constitution, though, unless we are to understand the 1st Amendment allows the government to promote Christianity (but no particular sect of it).

Clearly not a fan of slavery.

700 pages, and this is the abridged version meant for high school students! I don't think many high school or college students today would make it all the way through, but excerpts from this book could definitely prove useful in the classroom.

[Craig Bolton]

Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States by Joseph Story (1991)