Graduation Year
2024
Date of Submission
4-2024
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Government
Reader 1
Professor Shanna Rose
Reader 2
Professor Ken Miller
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2024 Caroline G Bullock
Abstract
This thesis situates state constitutionalism in the modern context of federal constitutional paralysis. By tracing patterns of state constitutional development, we find that states were always the fundamental setting of democracy, and there has always been critical action happening at state legislatures, in state courts, and through state constitutional change. State constitutions provide an active means to achieve progress and protect rights not federally enshrined (and thus, endangered by the political process). The use of state constitutions to prescribe ways of life, protect individual and specialized rights, and to limit local governments has always occurred, but with the current federal context, state constitutions are now more important than ever. The importance of state constitutions cannot go understated, they are the most democratic vehicles available to American citizens, with the amendment process readily accessible to citizens of seventeen states through a constitutional ballot-initiative. State constitutions, therefore, serve as bulwarks of democracy, offering citizens a direct and accessible means of shaping their governance structures and protecting their rights. State constitutionalism is not a passing trend, this thesis serves to show that state constitutions were always vital to the functioning of American democracy. But given that democratic norms have unraveled and trust in institutions have collapsed at the federal level, state constitutions are the key to making progress and shoring up norms.
Recommended Citation
Bullock, Caroline, "The State of Our Republic: State Constitutions’ Role in Creating a More Perfect Union" (2024). CMC Senior Theses. 3676.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/3676
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