Books by John R. Vile

John Vile provides an indispensable guide for scholars and students in religion, American history, law, and political science to understand how Americans throughout its history have interpreted and applied the Bible to legal and political issues.

Article V of the US Constitution allows two-thirds majorities of both houses of Congress to propose amendments and a three-fourths majority of the states to ratify them. John Vile surveys two centuries of scholarship on Article V and concludes that states and Congress have the legal right to limit the scope of such conventions to a single subject.

At a time when the U.S. flag is both a source of both pride and controversy, this volume provides the first encyclopedic A-to-Z treatment of the U.S. flag in American history, culture, and law. This title is a comprehensive resource for understanding all aspects of the American flag and its relationship to the American people.

Including documents from the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government as well as sentiments expressed by opinion leaders of the day, this book provides concisely edited primary sources that cover the Jackson period from March 1829 through the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln.The presidency of Andrew Jackson is typically associated with the American expansionism that furthered our democracy, but often at a high cost to Native American cultures. Could similar outcomes have been achieved differently? Historians debate whether the Civil War could have been avoided, why attempts to avert war failed, and which individuals had the greatest potential ability to divert the nation's path away from violent conflict. This book examines these historical questions regarding the unfolding of American history through an introduction to carefully edited primary documents relevant to the period, from the inauguration of President Andrew Jackson through that of Abraham Lincoln.These documents include not only major state papers from the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, but also primary sources that directly communicate the concerns of African Americans, women, and Native Americans of the period. Important themes include the rising controversy over slavery, American expansionism, and attempts to avert crises through compromise. High school and college students and patrons of public libraries seeking to better understand American history will profit from the introductions and annotations that accompany the primary documents in this book-invaluable resources that put the information into context and explain terms and language that have become outdated.

An up-to-date, all-encompassing, and nonpartisan presentation of questions and answers about the U.S. Constitution and its amendments-an invaluable tool for readers regardless of their political orientation.

This book is the first full-length work to present debates over the constitutional amending process as a perennial theme in American political thought. Beginning with a discussion of the views of political philosophers, publicists, and legal commentators who may have influenced the views of legal change held by the American Founding Fathers, the work proceeds to look at the historical influences on and discussions surrounding the amending process that was incorporated into Article V of the U.S. Constitution. The reader will gain a new respect for the way the amending process has served and still serves as a safety valve for constitutional change in the United States without permitting ill-considered or hastily conceived modifications.This work will be of interest to political scientists, historians, and students of American studies and legal history.

This book is the most comprehensive review of all the major proposals to rewrite, revise, or even replace the U.S. Constitution, covering more than 170 proposals from the nation's beginnings to the present day.

First published in 1954, this indispensable reference quickly became the gold standard for concise summaries of important U.S. Supreme Court cases. Updated through the end of the 2008 term, the 15th edition is an essential resource for students, lawyers, and everyone interested in our nation's Constitution.

This study examines contemporary questions surrounding the process by which the U.S. Constitution can be amended. The question of justiciability: whether the courts should have authority to settle amending issues or whether they are political questions beyond the court's purview.

A Companion to the United States Constitution and Its Amendments is designed to show students just how revolutionary the Constitution was-and how relevant it remains today. It begins by revisiting the key events leading to the Constitution's ratification, including the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, then goes article by article, amendment by amendment, to describe each section of the document, as well as the important court cases that add to its meaning.The fully updated new edition of A Companion to the United States Constitution and Its Amendments reflects a number of significant developments in the five years since the previous edition, including the appointments of new Supreme Court justices, impactful cases involving First Amendment rights for students, religious displays on government property, gun control in the District of Columbia, presidential powers in the context of the war on terror, corporate fraud liability, gay rights, and the 2010 presidential election.

Writing and Ratification of the U.S. Constitution is a concise history of a pivotal event in American history by a recognized authority on the subject.

The processes of constitutional change in America are particularly difficult to understand because of the constant interaction between the constitutional document of 1787 and the wider set of understandings and practices surrounding that document.

Few events in the history of the United States were of greater consequence than the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Although most histories have focused on the issues and compromises that dominated the debates, the exchanges were also shaped by the dynamic personalities of the fifty-five delegates who attended from twelve of the thirteen states.In The Men Who Made the Constitution, constitutional scholar John R. Vile explores the lives and contributions of all delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, including those who left before the Convention ended and those who stayed until the last day but refused to sign. Each biography records the delegate's birth, education, previous positions or public service roles, homes, family life, life after the Convention, death, and resting place. Drawing directly from Convention debates and a vast array of secondary sources, Vile covers the positions of each delegate at the Convention on both major and minor issues and describes his service on committees and afterward at state ratification conventions. The Men Who Made the Constitution includes a bibliography of key sources, engravings of delegates for whom portraits were created, a quiz on key facts, and a transcript of the Constitution of the United States. This work is the perfect reference for students and scholars, as well as professional and amateur historians, of colonial and early American history, constitutional law, and American jurisprudence.