Editors David Forte, a former chief counsel to the U.S. delegation to the United Nations, and Matthew Spalding, director of The Heritage Foundation’s B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies, have created the single most comprehensive and important reference on the Constitution ever written.
Three years in the making, this unprecedented volume was developed under the supervision of former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese, who revived interest in originalism when he served under President Ronald Reagan.
Mr. Meese explains the need for this book in his introduction:
“There remains in the country a vibrant and healthy debate among the members of the Supreme Court … and between the Court and academics, politicians, columnists and commentators, and the people generally, on whether the Court has correctly understood and applied the fundamental law of the Constitution. We have seen through our history that when the Supreme Court greatly misconstrues the Constitution, generations of mischief may follow. The result is that … the Supreme Court may come to revisit some of its doctrines and try, once again, to adjust its pronouncements to the commands of the Constitution.”
The Constitution itself makes this trial-and-error process possible, a process that has helped safeguard human liberty throughout our history. We can’t hope to preserve our precious birthright of freedom and self-government without knowledge -- which is where The Heritage Guide to the Constitution comes in. As Mr. Meese puts it:
“The Constitution … is our fundamental law because it represents the settled and deliberate will of the people, against which the actions of government officials must be squared. In the end, the continued success and viability of our democratic Republic depends on our fidelity to, and the faithful exposition and interpretation of, this Constitution, our great charter of liberty.”
At a time when “progressive” judges stand ready to put their own spin on the Constitution, under the ruse of it being a “living document” that can be stretched to mean almost anything, it’s reassuring to have a judicial anchor like the Heritage Guide. I predict favorable rulings from sea to shining sea.