Originalism, Federalism, and the American Constitutional Enterprise

by Edward A. Purcell

2007 · Yale University Press

In this lively historical examination of American federalism, a leading scholar in the field refutes the widely accepted notion that the founding fathers carefully crafted a constitutional balance of power between the states and the federal government. Edward A. Purcell Jr. bases his argument on close analysis of the Constitution’s original structure and the ways that structure both induced and accommodated changes over the centuries. There was no clear agreement among the founding fathers regarding the "true" nature of American federalism, Purcell contends, nor was there a consensus on "correct" lines dividing state and national authority. Furthermore, even had there been some true "original" understanding, the elastic and dynamic nature of the constitutional structure would have made it impossible for subsequent generations to maintain any "original" or permanent balance. The author traces the evolution of federalism through the centuries, focusing particularly on shifting interpretations founded on political interests. He concludes with insights into current issues of federal power and a discussion of the grounds on which legitimate decisions about federal and state power should rest.

The Regulars

by Edward M. Coffman

2009 · Harvard University Press

In 1898 the American Regular Army was a small frontier constabulary engaged in skirmishes with Indians and protesting workers; 43 years later, it was a large modern army ready to wage war against the Germans and the Japanese. In this social history of America's standing army, a military historian tells how that transformation was accomplished.

Molecular Mechanisms for Sensory Signals

by Edward M. Kosower

2017 · Princeton University Press

Pursuing the questions of how we learn and how memory is made, Edward Kosower introduces a novel and rich approach to connecting molecular properties with the biological properties that enable us to write and read, to create culture and ethics, and to think. Here he examines what happens within a single cell in reaction to external stimuli, and shows the parallels between single cell and multicellular responses. To address the problem of "learning," Kosower explains the molecular mechanisms of responses to input from taste, olfactory, and visual receptors. He then shows how these and other processes serve as the basis for memory. This study covers such signals for the molecular process of learning as pheromones (the molecular signals mediating behavior), light (activates the G-protein receptor, rhodopsin), and acetylcholine (opens the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor). Kosower's discussion of the structure and function of these complex molecules has direct implications for such areas as molecular neurobiology, bioorganic chemistry, and drug design, in elucidating approaches to the structure of drug targets. Originally published in 1991. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.