"The Constitution on the Campaign Trail finds evidence for a long, broad decline in the use of constitutional rhetoric since the mid-nineteenth century. Making matters worse, the modern medium most responsible for conveying campaign messages on a day-to-day basis - television advertising - has proven least conducive to constitutional argument. However, and perhaps surprisingly, American campaigns have actually seen a limited resurgence in constitutional rhetoric over the past four decades, driven in large part by increased concern with judicial issues, rights, and federalism. The political analysis found in The Constitution on the Campaign Trail is firmly grounded in historical research and the conclusions reached are trenchant."--BOOK JACKET.