A “switch in time” beyond the nine: historical memory and the constitutional revolution of the 1930s

Abstract

This chapter explores the “Constitutional Revolution” of the 1930s, as it played out beyond the walls of the U.S. Supreme Court. It argues that a radically revised historical memory of the Constitution accompanied the ascent New Deal liberalism. Prior core values associated with the Constitution's history, such as federalism and the sanctity of private property, were dramatically downgraded, while the civil liberties embodied in the Bill of Rights dramatically rose. By so redefining their historical memory of the Constitution, Americans could enjoy the active government that most desired while still celebrating the constitutional traditions of individual freedom and limited government.

Citation

Wertheimer, J.W. (2010), "A “switch in time” beyond the nine: historical memory and the constitutional revolution of the 1930s", Sarat, A. (Ed.) Studies in Law, Politics and Society (Studies in Law, Politics, and Society, Vol. 53), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 3-34. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1059-4337(2010)0000053004