The present volume contains a collection of presentations and essays on basic elements of constitutionalism. They run the gamut from a philosophical inquiry into the distinguishing characteristics of constitutionalism and democracy; an historical analysis of the Virginia Ratification Convention of 1788; an essay on Jefferson and the language of liberty; a critical paper on the presidency in relationship to the constitutional system; and a concluding discussion of the living as distinct from the written constitution. Such a group can prepare the way for a discussion of comparative constitutionalism by making clear the essential nature of the U.S. Constitution and the principles and practices that brought it into being.
