Constitutional History of the United States from their Declaration of Independence to the Close of the Civil War, Volume II

This second historic volume of thirty-five chapters was published in 1896.

Some excerpts from the book's Preface:
In addition to "an infinite capacity for taking pains," a
Macaulay-like memory, the precision of a lawyer and dialecti-
cian, the enthusiasm born of a profound reverence for the Federal Constitution, a close intimacy with many of our greatest statesmen, lawyers, and judges, Mr. George Ticknor Curtis possessed the power of taking broad historical and philosophical views, in a true judicial temper, and of expressing them with remarkable force and clearness.

The gravity, sincerity, precision, directness, and simplicity of
his diction scarcely modern and his exhaustive knowledge of
his noble subject, pre-eminently qualified him for writing the
History of the Constitution of the United States, a history
which appeals to the general reader and intelligent citizen as
well as to the professional student of public affairs and Consti-
tutional Law.

" The period covered by the second volume is from the adop-
tion of the Constitution to the close of the Civil War three
quarters of a century. In fact, the volume embraces the Consti-
tutional History of the country for about a century, since it de-
scribes all the changes that have followed the Civil War or that
accompanied it, as well as those which preceded it. The follow-
ing are some of the topics treated in the second volume : History
of Opinion and Belief concerning the Nature of the Constitution ;
the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 ; the Federalists
of New England and the Hartford Convention ; Nullification,
how distinguished from Secession ; Webster and Calhoun, as
Representatives of Opposite Theories ; Renunciation of the Con-
stitution by the Early Founders of the Auti-Slavery Societies;
the History of Secession ; the South Carolina Ordinance ; Why
Secession is Revolution ; True Justification of the Federal Gov-
ernment in the Prosecution of the Civil War; Views of the
Friends and Opponents of the Constitution at the time of its
Adoption Concurred in Regard to its Nature; Hamilton as a
Representative of the former, Patrick Henry of the latter ;
their Respective Opinions of the Necessity for a Bill of Rights ;
Necessity of Organic Laws to Supply the Machinery of the New
Government ; Mode of Choosing the President ; his Constitu-
tional Functions ; ' Counting ' ,the Electoral Votes ; Washing-
ton's Acceptance of the First Presidency ; Earliest Precedent of
'Counting' the Electoral Vote; Inauguration of the President
and Vice-President ; Power of Removal from Office ; President's
Salary ; Question of a Title for the President ; the Ten Amend-
ments of the Constitution adopted in 1789-91 ; Why they were
Demanded, and why they were Proposed ; the First Revenue
Law of the United States; How far 'Protection' was deemed
Obligatory ; Organization of the Judicial and Executive Depart-
ments ; Executive Interpretations of the Constitution during
Washington's Administration ; Admission of New States ; His-
tory and Purpose of the Territorial Clause ; Eise, Progress, and
Consequences of the Anti-Slavery Agitation ; Counter Pro-Slav-
ery Tendencies ; Causes of the Civil War and its True Issues ;
Constitutional Doctrines of President Lincoln's Administration ;
Close of the War ; ' Reconstruction ' of the Southern States ; the
New Amendments, whether they were in Accordance with the
Amending Power ; Limitations of that Power ; Judicial Interpre-
tations of the New Amendments ; How the Constitution was
Left when the War was Ended and a Final Settlement of its
Issues had been Beached ; Conclusions to be Drawn Eespecting
the Permanency of our Present Political Institutions.