Hailed as "the Oxford English Dictionary of American constitutional history", the print edition of "The Founders' Constitution" has proved since its publication in 1986 to be an invaluable aid to all those seeking a deeper understanding of one of our nation's most important legal documents. Now, the University of Chicago Press, with the financial support of The Liberty Fund, is making this important work -which, in print, extends over 3,200 double-column pages in five oversized volumes - available in two electronic editions: a web site linked to the University of Chicago Press's homepage, and a convenient CD-ROM. A sophisticated browser and searching capabilities will make it possible to explore easily carefully selected documents from the leading works of political and legal philosophy, history and constitutional argument that informed the thought and debates of the Framers. Accompanying the CD-ROM is the new edition of David Currie's book "The Constitution of the United States: A Primer for the People".
In keeping with the editor's vision of the constitution as an ongoing debate about current issues rather than as a static set of institutional arrangements, these two electronic editions should enable students, teachers and ordinary citizens to join the discussion in ways undreamt of by those who initiated it.