ALBERT

Description: Certain attributes of American life hold a special attraction to people all over the world, regardless of their social or political beliefs. Often those familiar features are simple banalities of that 'American way,' while more profound and remarkable traits of that complex nation seem to have gone almost unnoticed outside its borders, although their prevalent influence is evident. Current technology, business ways, commerce, culture, etc., are all deeply marked by that country 'ways.' Unquestionably, the American constitutional system is one of these hidden traits that, regardless of the circumstances, is present all over our –so called– Western world. Nevertheless, it is, for most and to most, unknown. Responses to the previous works by this author –Orígenes del constitucionalismo americano and Nosotros, el Pueblo de los Estados Unidos– hinted of a possible interest by law students at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid for an elective course on American constitutionalism. Thus, that was the reason behind El constitucionalismo americano, as a textbook for that course. Drafted around seven themes, they cover from the beginning of the seventeenth century and the fundamental laws that English settlers brought with them at their early landings on the American continent, to the constitutional Amendments and U.S. Supreme Court decisions of the second half of the twentieth century. Thus, the history of the United States has been divided into seven periods: the British colonial period; the American Revolution; the Federalist effort; the early Amendments and Supreme Court decisions; the Civil War and Reconstruction era; the Progressive era and the New Deal; and the Civil Rights period. For each period, some of the main relevant constitutional events get analyzed. Each theme includes a historical and legal presentation of the period, followed by the primary sources directly related to the events described. Assuming the targeted students may not be very familiar with the overall history of the United States, brief biographical notes are added for the most prominent personalities mentioned in the narrative. As a textbook, each theme includes a number of questions for the students to develop. (Incidentally, the course made it to OpenCourseWare, where its English version got a somewhat good response, receiving one of the organization's awards for 2013.)This work was part of the author's PhD effort. = Determinados aspectos de la sociedad norteamericana muestran tener una atracción especial para todo el mundo, al margen de creencias políticas y sociales. A menudo esas características tan familiares son las más frívolas del 'American way', mientras que rasgos más profundos e importantes de esa compleja nación parecen pasar desapercibidos más allá de sus fronteras, aunque su influencia sea manifiesta. La tecnología, negocios, comercio, cultura, etc., actuales están todos profundamente marcados por los 'ways' –maneras– de ese país. Sin duda alguna el sistema constitucional norteamericano es uno de esos 'rasgos ocultos' que, al margen de circunstancias locales y pequeños detalles, es omnipresente en lo que llamamos 'el mundo occidental'. Las respuestas a anteriores trabajos del autor –Orígenes del constitucionalismo americano and Nosotros, el Pueblo de los Estados Unidos–hicieron entrever un posible interés por parte de los estudiantes de Derecho de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid hacia una asignatura optativa sobre el constitucionalismo norteamericano. De ahí surgió, como manual para ese curso, El constitucionalismo americano. Redactado en siete temas, cubre desde los inicios del siglo XVII y las normas fundamentales que los colonos ingleses llevaron a sus primeros asentamientos, hasta las Enmiendas y decisiones del Tribunal Supremo norteamericano sobre derechos civiles en la segunda mitad del siglo XX. De esta forma, la historia de los Estados Unidos se ha dividido en siete periodos: el periodo colonial británico, la revolución americana, el proceso federalista, las primeras Enmiendas y decisiones del Tribunal Supremo de los Estados Unidos, la guerra civil y la Reconstrucción, la era progresista y el New Deal, y el periodo de los derechos civiles. En cada periodo se estudian algunos de los eventos constitucionales más relevantes y de carácter universal. Cada tema incluye una presentación histórica y jurídica del periodo, seguida de las fuentes primarias relacionadas directamente con los eventos descritos. Suponiendo que los estudiantes a quienes va dirigido el manual podrían no estar muy familiarizados con la historia general de los Estados Unidos, se han añadido unas breves notas biográficas sobre los personajes mencionados en la narrativa. Al ser un manual de trabajo, se han incluido algunas cuestiones sobre los temas tratados para que los estudiantes pueden desarrollar los conocimientos aprendidos. (A título anecdótico, la versión on-line del manual en inglés recibió en 2013 uno de los premios de OpenCourseWare.) Este trabajo ha sido parte de los estudios doctorales del autor.

Description: If there is a Constitution representing these most democratic times, that has to be the Constitution of the United States of America. Drafted in 1787, the literature that has followed it during its more than two hundred years in effect is overwhelming. Why, then, one more essay on the subject? Unfortunately –or 'fortunately' for the author– that literature has been much less fertile in the Spanish language. The previous work of this author –Orígenes del constitucionalismo americano– included, among other documents, all the State constitutions of the American revolutionary period, but ended right at the moment that the federal Constitution was being drafted at the Philadelphia Convention. It made some sense, at the very least 'chronologically,' to wrap it up with a brief study on the Constitution. As with Orígenes, the main objective of Nosotros, el Pueblo... was to make available to the Spanish speaking student of law, often not very familiar with the American constitutional system, a bilingual edition of "this Constitution for the United States of America," and its Amendments to this date. The work includes an introduction presenting the organization of the study, the primary sources used, and a rationalization of the particular translation to the Spanish language embraced here. Each of the documents –the Constitution and its twenty seven Amendments– includes a report of its relevant dates, particular source used, critical comments on that source, and a brief historical description of the moment so the student may have a better understanding of the circumstances that surrounded the document. This work has been part of the author's doctoral studies.