Chapter 11, Madison and the Origins of Originalism Summary

The concept of originalism refers to the framers original intent or meaning of the words and terms used in the Constitution. Rakove distinguishes between the written Constitution and its amendments and the body of precedents and concepts about how the system should function. The term interpretation refers to the way people understand the meaning. The first interpretation of the Constitution is during the period of ratification. The second phase begins when they have to implement it into a working form of government. The authors understood these two stages of interpretation and tried to use phraseology that would be accepted for ratification and that would be possible to implement.

Obviously, the implementation of the Constitution leads to questions about interpretation right away. One of the first questions involves the removal of appointed...