The constitutional bind: how Americans came to idolize a document that fails them

Preface: Three centennials

The American constitutional romance

Disagreement and experimentation in the Gilded Age, 1887-1917. Settler crisis and constitutional uncertainty ; Class narratives and the high tide of "constitution tinkering" ; The Socialist constitutional alternative ; Developing universalist empire in the Philippines

The spread of a new constitutional citizenship, 1917-1945. World War I, the security state, and constitutional loyalty ; Inclusion and exclusion in interwar Americanism ; Transformation and preservation in the New Deal ; The good war and constitution worship

Consolidating the American model, 1945-1965. Launching the American century ; Red scare constitutionalism ; Cold War reform and the reframing of American identity ; Constitutional myths and the victory of the court

Alternative paths and constitutional erasure, 1965-1987. Left resurgence and the decolonial project ; The rise of originalist America

Conclusion: Constitutional accounting.