Commentaries on the Constitution 1790-1860 [1952]

A notable contribution to the history of American political thought, this work provides a detailed survey of thirteen important commentaries on the U.S. Constitution published before the Civil War. Bauer divides these into three categories: those of the "Middle States" (James Wilson, William Rawle, Peter Stephen DuPonceau, James Kent, William Alexander Duer, David Hoffman), the "New England Nationalists" (Nathaniel Chipman, Nathan Dane, Joseph Story, Timothy Walker), and the "States Rights School of the South" (St. George Tucker, Henry St. George Tucker, John Taylor of Caroline).Bauer places these works in a historical context by comparing their theories and examining their impact. Overall, she shows how they illustrate "the early divergence between the North and South in theoretical discussions of the nature of the Union" and "eventually lead to the constitutional justification of Southern secession."

400 pp.