Reunification and Reconstruction as Constitutional Moments: Constitutional Identity in Germany and the United States

• Main Author: Muller, Melissa
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarship @ Claremont 2018
• Subjects: constitution; germany; reunification; reconstruction; Comparative and Foreign Law; Constitutional Law; Law and Politics
• Online Access: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1859; http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3022&context=cmc_theses

This thesis employs the lens of constitutional identity to engage in a comparative analysis of Germany during reunification and the United States during Reconstruction. I argue that these developments should be considered constitutional moments that fundamentally shifted the ways each country conceptualized citizenship, economic liberties, and federalism. Moreover, the similarities between these shifts highlight an overarching logic to constitutional design by showing why realizing these re-conceptualizations required substantive changes to constitutional mechanisms and delegation of powers. Ultimately my thesis emphasizes the analytical power of constitutional identity and critiques a variety of perspectives on Reconstruction, including those found in the majority opinions in the Slaughterhouse Cases and Civil Rights Cases.