American covenant How the Constitution unified our nation -- and could again

A learned interpretation of the Constitution as a document that creates unity as much as political structures. Several recent books have held the Constitution to be a fundamentally flawed document, enshrining legal protections for the benefit of the slave states. Levin, author of The Fractured Republic, writes instead that the Constitution, read generously, affords a solution to reigning schisms: "It was designed with an exceptionally sophisticated grasp of the nature of political division and diversity, and it aims to create--and not just to occupy--common ground in our society." Thus, the Constitution is not merely a legal framework but also the scaffolding for solidarity. Levin examines the Constitution along a "five-part framework," four related to government and the fifth devoted to "union and unity." The five are interrelated if sometimes in uneasy relationship to one another. For example, the constitutional mechanisms guaranteeing the rights of minorities against the tyranny of the majority enable such encumbering antiquities as the Electoral College. "Simple majoritarianism is of no use when there aren't simple majorities," writes the author, arguing that the net effect of these tensions is to require contending bodies to "act together when they don't think alike…making civic unity more achievable." Levin takes a prescriptive turn later in his discussion, suggesting that there are ways to improve a bogged-down legislature to return to the Constitution's better angels. Congress is too much in the hands of party leaders who give junior members too little to do, which, the author writes, might be solved by giving congressional committees more power--especially those that concern the budget, which would foster bipartisan action and "depolarize spending debates a little." Otherwise, Levin holds, parties will respond only to their bases and ignore the vast center--i.e., about what we have today. An affably contrarian reading of the Constitution that merits attention. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.