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The Declaration and the Promise of a Democratic Culture
Balkin, Jack M.
Balkin, Jack M.
Abstract
What is the point of constitutional government in the United States of America? It is the eventual redemption in history of the principles of our founding document. I do not mean the written Constitution of 1787. I mean the Declaration of Independence of 1776. American constitutionalism is and must be a commitment to the promises the Declaration makes about our future as a people. Our country sprang forth from a revolution in political and social structure. The Declaration explains the point of that revolution, and hence the point of our constitutional enterprise.