Peopling the Constitution

John E. Finn (Wesleyan University). Peopling the Constitution (University of Kansas, 2014).

"This book outlines a very different view of the Constitution as a moral and philosophical statement about who we are as a nation. This 'Civic Constitution' constitutes us as a civic body politic, transforming 'the people' into a singular political entity. Juxtaposing this view with the legal model, the 'Juridic Constitution,' John E. Finn offers a comprehensive account of the Civic Constitution as a public affirmation of the shared principles of national self-identity, and as a particular vision of political community in which we the people play a significant and ongoing role in achieving a constitutional way of life. . . . With its multidimensional vision of constitutional governance, Finn's book stands as a corrective to accounts that locate the Constitution in and conceive it essentially as a legal instrument, making a powerful and impassioned argument for restoring the people to their rightful place in the politics and practice of the Constitution." 
—From book jacket