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by Samuel Bell Thomas (Author), Edward Williams (Joint Author), John R. Vile (Introduction by)
A call for limits on Constitutional amendments. New introduction by John R. Vile, Middle Tennessee State University. Originally published: New York: Dauber & Pine Bookshops, 1932. XXVI (III-XXVI new Introduction), vii, 321 pp. Written in 1932, this book attempts to situate the U.S. Constitution within its historical context and argues for the types of limits on constitutional amendments that some scholars advocate to this day. Thomas: - interprets the 2nd amendment as a state rather than a federal issue, - examines the question of substantive limits on the content of constitutional amendments, - advances the then novel idea that the Bill of Rights limited both the national government and the states, - proclaims the unconstitutionality of the 18th amendment, which prohibited alcohol, - questions equal state suffrage in the U.S. Senate, the extensive powers of the president, the four-year presidential election cycle, "the composition and tenure of the Federal Judiciary" and the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court.
SAMUEL BELL THOMAS [1868-1943] practiced law in New York. He graduated from the University of Texas and received his law degree from Southwestern University. He lost his bid for Congress as a New York Independence League candidate in 1910.
