The Rise & Decline of
Constitutional Government in America

by Thomas G. West and Douglas A. Jeffrey

A Publication of The Claremont Institute

This essay explains the principles of the American founding. It shows how those principles gave rise to constitutional government and a free society, and how freedom was extended to all Americans after the Civil War. It will also show how the Founders' principles were opposed by a new theory that arose in the Progressive Era; how that new theory finally came to dominate American politics in the 1960s; and how that theory has changed our government and our society, and threatens our liberty.

• Part 1: The Theory of the American Founding: The Declaration of Independence
   
• Part 2: Implementing the Principles of the American Founding: The United States Constitution
   
• Part 3: Extending Constitutionalism: Slavery and Civil Rights
   
• Part 4: Maintaining Constitutionalism: Morality and Republican Citizenship
   
• Part 5: The Modern Rejection of the Principles of the American Founding
   
• Part 6: Implementing the Theories of Modern liberalism: The Welfare State
   
• Conclusion: Where Do We Go From Here?