Leonard Levy's classic work examines the circumstances that led to the writing of the establishment clause of the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion ..." He argues that the framers of the Constitution intended to prohibit government aid to religion even on an impartial basis. He thus refutes the view of "nonpreferentialists," who interpret the clause as allowing such aid provided that the assistance...

Analyzes the doctrine of "original intent" vs the Constitution's interpretation by each succeeding generation. For more than two hundred years a debate has raged between those who believe that jurists should follow the original intentions of the Founding Fathers and those who argue that the Constitution is a living document subject to interpretation by each succeeding generation. The controversy has flared anew in our own time as a facet of the battle...

Although this collection spans the entire course of American history, Levy focuses primarily on colonial America and the Constitutional period. His essays cover a broad range of subjects, including free speech in the 17th century, John Liburne and the rights of the English, Quaker blasphemy and toleration, the Zenger case, the First and Ffifth Amendments, Jefferson as civil libertarian, and judicial activism. Levy's previously unpublished works offer...