The Constitution as Political Program: The Republican Party and Originalism, 1977-1988

• In Event: Postwar Conservatism and the Constitution

Brief Overview

This paper sets forth a framework to understand originalism's political and legal “logic”. The central claim is that originalism is best understood as a “case” of a constitutional political program—devised by an electorally successful long coalition.

Author

• Calvin J TerBeek, University of Chicago