Alternative Visions of American Constitutionalism: Popular Sovereignty and the Early American Constitutional Debate

Scholars have argued that the enactment of our Constitution was the epitome of an American constitutional consensus. This Article, however, affirms that a vibrant debate about the Constitution continued long after its passage. By examining neglected original constitutional sources, this Article demonstrates that a dynamic tension existed throughout the nineteenth century about the meaning and implementation of "popular sovereignty," the principle underpinning our constitutional tradition.