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Students are challenged to stay ahead in today's ever-changing political environment. This third edition comprehensive and accessible casebook, designed specifically for undergraduates, integrates both the political science and legal perspectives of American constitutional law. Covering developments from the constitution's drafting through to the presidency of Donald Trump, the book balances doctrinal analysis with historical and political context. Key updates include expanded discussions of judicial review, judicial power, nationwide injunctions, and the elimination of Chevron deference in administrative law. New material addresses Native American sovereignty, congressional investigatory powers, presidential authority and criminal liability, and the evolving balance of power in foreign affairs and war powers. Additional coverage explores presidential and congressional budget authority, impeachment, and state power within the federal system. The text examines pressing contemporary issues such as public health, property rights, substantive due process, and eminent domain, providing students with the essential tools to critically analyze constitutional law.
List of contents
1. Foundation, interpretation, and amendment of the constitution; 2. Nature of the federal union; 3. Legislative powers over commerce, taxing, and spending; 4. Congress; 5. President/executive branch; 6. Property rights and substantive due process; 7. Property rights and eminent domain (online chapter); 8. State authority in a federal system; Appendices.
About the author
David Schultz is Distinguished University Professor of Political Science, Environmental Studies, and Legal Studies at Hamline University, and Professor of Law at the University of St. Thomas and at the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania. A licensed attorney in Minnesota and before the US Supreme Court, he has authored over 45 books and 200+ articles on election law, constitutional law, and American politics. A four-time Fulbright scholar and former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Public Affairs Education, he is widely cited in national and international media and has received multiple awards for teaching excellence.John R. Vile is a Professor of Political Science and Dean of the Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University. He has authored and edited numerous books on American Founding Fathers, the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the US Constitution, the constitutional amending process, great American symbols, presidential speeches, and religion and politics and is a co-editor and frequent contribution to the online First Amendment Encyclopedia. He was the Phi Kappa Phi Scholar for 2020–2022 and received the 2020–2011 MTSU Career Achievement Award.Michelle D. Deardorff is the Adolph S. Ochs Professor of Government at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; she has previously served as Professor of Political Science at Jackson State University, as well as the Griswold Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Millikin University. Deardorff's most recent book is Race and the Law in the United States: A Contemporary Perspective (Cambridge, 2025). She has served on the American Political Science Association's (APSA) governing council and as a Fulbright Senior Specialist to Albania. In 2021, the APSA's Political Science Education Section awarded her their Lifetime Achievement Award.
