The Age of Strict Construction: A History of the Growth of Federal Power, 1789–1861

The scope of Peter Zavodnyiks book is greater than his title may suggest.. . . Zavodnyik gives us a chronological survey of federal policy in the light of constitutional power in interaction with the politics surrounding the use of the powers. He thus gives us a very nice account of the relation between constitutional and political factors, an account often missing in studies that focus on one factor or the other. . . . Zavodnyik has produced a provocative book that not only highlights often neglected features of the era, but supplies intriguing insights into the coming of the Civil War. The Journal of American History