Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-344) and index.

Part I: Constitutional Interpreters
Illinois: Abraham Lincoln and the American Union
Alabama: Hugo Black and the Hall of Fame
New York: Robert Jackson and the Judicialization of the Judiciary
California: Anthony Kennedy and the Ideal of Equality
Part II: Constitutional Cases
Kansas: Living in the Shadow of Brown v. Board
Iowa: Rereading Tinker v. Des Moines
Florida: Getting to the Bottom of Bush v. Gore
Part III: Constitutional Provisions and Principles
Ohio: A Buckeye-State View of Presidents Without Mandates
Texas: A Lone-Star View of Presidential Selection and Succession
Wyoming: A Rocky-Mountain View of the Second Amendment
Massachusetts: A Bay-State View of the Fourth Amendment
New Jersey: Lord Camden Meets Federalism

"From Illinois to Alabama, and from Florida to Utah, our laws and legal debates arise from distinctive local settings within our vast and varied nation. As the renowned scholar Akhil Amar explains, Abraham Lincoln's argument against the legality of succession can be traced to his Midwestern upbringing, just as a close look at the Florida legislature and state Supreme Court reveals the fundamental wrongness of the Bush v. Gore decision. Amar profiles Alabama's Hugo Black, the dominant constitutional jurist of the twentieth century, and California's Anthony Kennedy, the powerful swing justice on the current Court. He probes Brown v. Board of Education, and explores the divisiveness of the Second and Fourth Amendments. An expert guide to America's constitutional landscape, Amar sheds new light on American history and politics and shows how America's legal tradition unites a vast and disparate land. "-- Provided by publisher.

"In The Law of the Land, renowned legal scholar Akhil Reed Amar explores the most pressing questions in American jurisprudence through a close look at how our nation's geography has shaped its laws. Writing about Illinois, Amar discusses Lincoln's arguments against the legality of secession in the context of his upbringing on what was then the country's western frontier. Writing about New Jersey, he examines the career of Lord Camden, a British defender of the individual's rights against government intrusion, and the legacy of Camden's beliefs in that state's laws. Writing about Florida, Amar shows how a close look at the workings of the state legislature and state supreme court reveals the fundamental wrongness of the Bush v. Gore decision. His essay about gun-loving Utah, meanwhile, is a subtle examination of the second amendment that will infuriate both sides in the debate. Other states covered within include Iowa, Ohio, Massachusetts, Alabama, California, Kansas, and New York"-- Provided by publisher.