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020 a| 9780691180014q| hardback;

020 a| 0691180016q| hardback;

020 z| 9780691208466q| PDF ebook;

020 z| 9780691287515q| ebook;

024 8 a| CIPO000335627;

035 a| 40033177399;

035 a| (OCoLC)1534117559;

043 a| n-us---;

050 4 a| KF4541b| .P48 2026;

082 04 a| 342.730292| 23;

100 1 a| Peterson, Mark A.,d| 1960-e| author.1| https://id.oclc.org/worldcat/entity/E39PCjxg4YkQRMT3Dy4W6XgrD3;

245 14 a| The making and breaking of the American Constitution :b| a thousand-year history /c| Mark Peterson.;

264 1 a| Princeton, New Jersey :b| Princeton University Press,c| [2026];

300 a| viii, 394 pages :b| illustrations, maps ;c| 24 cm;

336 a| textb| txt2| rdacontent;

336 a| still imageb| sti2| rdacontent;

336 a| cartographic imageb| cri2| rdacontent;

337 a| unmediatedb| n2| rdamedia;

338 a| volumeb| nc2| rdacarrier;

504 a| Includes bibliographical references (pages 333-375) and index.;

505 0 a| Introduction: "Like a garment to the bodie" : on constitutional relationships -- Part I. From domesday to independence, 1066-1776. Land, conquest, and the substance of constitutions : from England to America -- Colonies and constitutions from Charter to independence -- Part II. Making the United States, 1776-89. Independent states and the challenge of the west -- Constitutional solutions before the Constitution -- From convention to ratification : drafting a blueprint for a speculative empire -- Part III. The domesday machine in action, 1790-1890. Two paths to westward expansion, north and south -- The President who failed to bark : Jefferson, Louisiana, and constitutional change -- The machine runs amok : expansion, slavery, and civil war -- The machine stalls out : the challenge of the arid west -- Part IV. A domesday book for the United States, 1890-1990. A union of three distinct sub-nations and the beginnings of constitutional reform -- The great transformation : the making of a national government and a national society -- The long crisis of the Constitution : governmental change and instrumental stasis in the twentieth century -- Epilogue: Toward 2090 : rethinking the purpose of the United States.;

520 8 a| "A provocative new history of America's Constitution and an urgent call to action for a nation confronted by challenges its founders could never have imagined. The American Revolution occurred at a time when Britain's constitutional order failed to adapt to the extraordinary growth of its colonies. The framers designed an American constitution to succeed where Britain's had faltered, planning for continuous population and territorial expansion that would eventually cross the continent. Yet by the end of the nineteenth century, it was already ill-suited for an increasingly urban, industrialized society, and the transformations of the twentieth century have pushed it to a breaking point. This book charts the history and aims of the American Constitution from its origins in an agrarian past to the grave crisis we face today. Mark Peterson traces the American constitutional tradition to the control of land in medieval England, showing how the founders incorporated the aspirations of Magna Carta with the administrative principles of the Domesday Book, a meticulous survey and valuation of landed property commissioned by William the Conqueror. This framework encouraged the growth of democratic self-government in a young nation. It also institutionalized the colonization of territory and the expulsion of Indigenous peoples, establishing a legal blueprint for transforming tribal lands into revenue-yielding real estate for settlers. Peterson's riveting narrative paints an arresting picture of a dynamic republic whose frame of government has changed enormously to meet the challenges of the modern age but whose written constitution has changed very little. Marking the 250th anniversary of American independence, The Making and Breaking of the American Constitution reveals how this widening disconnect threatens the very existence of our democracy. It calls for a constitution that sustains the ideals developed over the past thousand years while meeting the challenges of the future."--c| Provided by vendor.;

610 10 a| United States.t| Constitution.;

650 0 a| Constitutional historyz| United States.;

650 7 a| HISTORY / United States / General.2| bisacsh;

650 7 a| Constitutional history2| fast;

651 7 a| United States2| fast1| https://id.oclc.org/worldcat/entity/E39PBJtxgQXMWqmjMjjwXRHgrq;

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The making and breaking of the American Constitution : a thousand-year history / Mark Peterson.

Author/creator	Peterson, Mark A., 1960- author.
Format	Book
Publication	Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2026]
Copyright Date	©2026
Description	viii, 394 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Subjects	United States. Constitution. Constitutional history--United States.

Contents	Introduction: "Like a garment to the bodie" : on constitutional relationships -- Part I. From domesday to independence, 1066-1776. Land, conquest, and the substance of constitutions : from England to America -- Colonies and constitutions from Charter to independence -- Part II. Making the United States, 1776-89. Independent states and the challenge of the west -- Constitutional solutions before the Constitution -- From convention to ratification : drafting a blueprint for a speculative empire -- Part III. The domesday machine in action, 1790-1890. Two paths to westward expansion, north and south -- The President who failed to bark : Jefferson, Louisiana, and constitutional change -- The machine runs amok : expansion, slavery, and civil war -- The machine stalls out : the challenge of the arid west -- Part IV. A domesday book for the United States, 1890-1990. A union of three distinct sub-nations and the beginnings of constitutional reform -- The great transformation : the making of a national government and a national society -- The long crisis of the Constitution : governmental change and instrumental stasis in the twentieth century -- Epilogue: Toward 2090 : rethinking the purpose of the United States.
Summary	"A provocative new history of America's Constitution and an urgent call to action for a nation confronted by challenges its founders could never have imagined. The American Revolution occurred at a time when Britain's constitutional order failed to adapt to the extraordinary growth of its colonies. The framers designed an American constitution to succeed where Britain's had faltered, planning for continuous population and territorial expansion that would eventually cross the continent. Yet by the end of the nineteenth century, it was already ill-suited for an increasingly urban, industrialized society, and the transformations of the twentieth century have pushed it to a breaking point. This book charts the history and aims of the American Constitution from its origins in an agrarian past to the grave crisis we face today. Mark Peterson traces the American constitutional tradition to the control of land in medieval England, showing how the founders incorporated the aspirations of Magna Carta with the administrative principles of the Domesday Book, a meticulous survey and valuation of landed property commissioned by William the Conqueror. This framework encouraged the growth of democratic self-government in a young nation. It also institutionalized the colonization of territory and the expulsion of Indigenous peoples, establishing a legal blueprint for transforming tribal lands into revenue-yielding real estate for settlers. Peterson's riveting narrative paints an arresting picture of a dynamic republic whose frame of government has changed enormously to meet the challenges of the modern age but whose written constitution has changed very little. Marking the 250th anniversary of American independence, The Making and Breaking of the American Constitution reveals how this widening disconnect threatens the very existence of our democracy. It calls for a constitution that sustains the ideals developed over the past thousand years while meeting the challenges of the future."-- Provided by vendor.
Bibliography note	Includes bibliographical references (pages 333-375) and index.
Issued in other form	Online version: Peterson, Mark A., 1955- Making and breaking of the American constitution. Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2026] 9780691208466
ISBN	9780691180014 hardback
ISBN	0691180016 hardback
ISBN	PDF ebook
ISBN	ebook
Standard identifier#	CIPO000335627

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