James Ely, Author at The Imaginative Conservative

About James Ely

James W. Ely, Jr. is the Milton R. Underwood Professor of Law Emeritus and Professor of History Emeritus at Vanderbilt University. He received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia and his L.L.B. from Harvard University. His books include The Guardian of Every Other Right: A Constitutional History of Property Rights, The Fuller Court: Justices, Rulings and Legacy and Railroads and American Law. He has also served as an editor of both the second edition of the Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court and the second edition of the Oxford Guide to Supreme Court Decisions. Professor Ely also served as an editor of the American Journal of Legal History.

The Constitutional Thought of Thomas Jefferson

By James Ely|2025-03-09T21:43:13-05:00March 9th, 2025|Categories: American Founding, American Republic, Books, Constitution, Republicanism, Thomas Jefferson|

Were the actions of Thomas Jefferson as president consistent with his constitutional theory? David N. Mayer’s account raises fundamental but unanswered questions. The Constitutional Thought of Thomas Jefferson by David N. Mayer (416 pages, University of Virginia Press, 1995) Thomas Jefferson continues to fascinate scholars. A voluminous literature examines his long public career and extensive comments on [...]