Browsing by Subject "Constitution"

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    Discovering a Higher Law: Cicero's Creation of a Roman Constitution
    (2015-05) Willey, Andrew
    Political legitimacy is often characterized as a particularly modern concern, and, it is argued, one never broached by ancient political thinkers. The electoral contests of the Roman Republic, under this traditional view, have been seen as merely the marshalling of public support and the quid pro quo infighting of the great Roman families. A completely different story is revealed, however, by a close reading of Cicero’s early speeches. The political atmosphere of the Republic, far from being an ideologically sterile wasteland, was in fact a fertile source of political ideas and competing political ideologies. It was in these early speeches, after all, that Cicero began building his public reputation. Although he was a newcomer to Roman politics (novus homo - ‘new man’), his early speeches reveal the great effort (and risks) he took to articulate a coherent political program: a set of ideas about the Republic, its laws and constitution that set him apart from his contemporaries. Thus this project shows how Cicero’s early private speeches, the Pro Roscio Amerino, the In Verrem, and the Pro Caecina, should be read as important steps in the construction of both Cicero’s political thought and his public persona. In these speeches, Cicero laid out his vision for the Roman Republic, and this vision is, in its essence, a constitutional vision. His earliest speeches emphasize, repeatedly and consistently, the necessity of building a constitutional and limited Republic as the only route of escape from the troubles which were vexing Roman society. A government is made legitimate, Cicero argues, by those things it chooses not to do. Instead, a legitimate government recognizes and acknowledges that certain actions are simply unthinkable, illegitimate, and fundamentally unconstitutional. This vision of a limited and legitimate Res Publica, then, helps to explain some of Cicero’s electoral appeal in his own time and his continuing influence in our own.
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    “We the Indians of the Turtle Mountain Reservation…” rethinking tribal constitutionalism beyond the colonialist/revolutionary dialectic
    (2009-05) Richotte Jr., Keith Steven
    Using the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians as a case study, this dissertation argues that the body of scholarship concerning tribal constitutionalism is artificially limited and cannot adequately explain the development of constitutionalism in Indian Country. Scholarship concerning tribal constitutionalism currently exists in what this dissertation calls a colonialist/revolutionary dialectic. The discourse within this dialectic is focused almost exclusively on an examination of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (IRA). On the "colonialist" side of the dialectic, scholars argue that the IRA has forced a foreign form of government on tribes and that constitutionalism is another form of colonialism. On the "revolutionary" side, scholars argue that the IRA was a positive development in Indian Country that was not allowed to fulfill its potential. This narrow focus neglects to consider the choices made by tribal peoples themselves as it concerns their own constitutional histories. This dissertation examines four episodes in the constitutional history of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. The first episode concerns the McCumber Agreement, or the Ten-Cent Treaty, as it was derisively nicknamed. Tribal discontent with the McCumber Agreement led the people of Turtle Mountain to seek out constitutionalism. The second episode concerns the first tribal constitution, ratified in 1932. While it was a compromised choice, the people of Turtle Mountain decided to adopt the 1932 constitution in order to attempt to begin a claim against the United States. The third episode concerns the second tribal constitution, ratified in 1959. This constitutional moment is an example of the community seeking to reclaim autonomy over their lives and their government during a particularly onerous social and policy period. The fourth episode concerns the efforts at constitutional reform in 2002 and 2003. During an era when constitutional reform has been a growing trend in Indian Country, the people of Turtle Mountain used their constitutional votes to express their displeasure with the activities of the tribal government and with an increasingly controversial tribal chairperson. None of these four episodes fits within the colonialist/revolutionary dialectic. As such, the case study of Turtle Mountain makes clear that the dialectic does not and cannot adequately explain the development of constitutionalism in Indian Country. The Turtle Mountain example provides scholars with an opportunity to reexamine the current discourse concerning tribal constitutionalism and allows scholars to develop a more complex, deeper, richer understanding of tribal constitutionalism and tribal government.