The American Constitution is the oldest in the world, but appearances are deceiving. Over the past two centuries, the Supreme Court has given very different meanings to the grand abstractions and cryptic formulae of the Constitution, and in doing so has ratified a series of great transformations in American government. From age to age, the court's decisions have revolutionised the relationships between the presidency and Congress, between the federal government and the states, and between the individual and the state.

LRB 17 February 2005 | PDF Download