Excerpt from Constitutional History of the United States, From Their Declaration of Independence, to the Close of Their Civil War, Vol. 1 of 2 If the historical accuracy of my former work has ever been called in question, I have not been aware of it. Nor have I met with anything in the writings of other authors who have Since treated the same subject which has led me to doubt the correct ness of my statements, or the soundness of my interpretations. The work to which I refer has been so often consulted and relied upon by those who have had to construe the Constitution that I may be pardoned for believing that it is reliable. I have, there fore, retained the whole of my former text, unchanged, excepting in a very few matters of mere style, and have incorporated the two volumes of the original work in the first volume of the pres ent history. A full and minute index was added to the second volume of the former work. This I have repeated at the end of the first volume of the new work, and have made a new index for the second volume. It seemed to me that this would be more convenient to readers than it would be to incorporate the former index with the new one. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Constitutional History of the United States, From Their Declaration of Independence, to the Close of Their Civil War, Vol. 2 of 2 In addition to "an infinite capacity for taking pains," a Macaulay-like memory, the precision of a lawyer and dialectician, 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 Constitutional Law. In 1854, Mr. Curtis's "History of the Constitution of the United States" first appeared - in two volumes. It at once became a standard "authority," and a worthy companion to "Story on the Constitution," and has been often cited with respect and approval by the Supreme Court; and all publicists have conceded its fairness and trustworthiness, although some of them have not been able to agree with its conclusions on every point of theory or of interpretation. In 1889, he issued a revised edition in one volume, and announced, as in preparation, a second volume in continuation of the work originally published. The prospectus said: "The first volume of this work contains the whole of Mr. Curtis's' History of the Origin, Formation, and Adoption of the Constitution of the United States, with Notices of its Principal Framers,' which was first published by this house more than thirty years ago. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.