In this historical interpretation of the Supreme Court's role in constructing the United States Constitution, McCloskey contends that the strength of the Court has always been in its sensitivity to the changing political scene and in its reluctance to stray too far from the main currents of public sentiments. Because of the essential ambiguity of the Constitution, McCloskey argues, the Court has always been an active branch of government. This edition contains two new chapters covering the developments that have occurred since the 1960s, a coda, a revised chronology and a bibliographic essay.