Perhaps it would be helpful or enlightening if you could compare and contrast for us the terms "Constitutionalist" and "Declarationist"?
Regards,
Amelia
(who thinks she has a general idea but would like to be sure)
Here is a paragraph from a speech of Keyes that puts the relationship rather nicely, IMHO.
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"And that very simple train of logic, it seems to me, helps us to understand the relationship between the principles stated in the Declaration of Independence and what was then later formulated to be the instrument of government in this country, which is the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution represents an effort to put together a framework of government that reflects and respects the basic understanding of justice and right which is succinctly articulated in the Declaration. It is, to the Declaration, what an architect's drawing is to the scientific principles of engineering. So that the architect, with an understanding of those principles, puts together a framework in which those principles are embodied in a viable or workable model. And that is, of course, what our Founders were seeking to do when they put together the Constitution of the United States."
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And here is a link to the whloe text. "The Spirit of American Law"
A Delcarationist is one who holds that the political and philosophical truths in the Declaration are the touchstone of American political life, and consequently will use them for interpreting the Constitution, among other things. A Declarationist is also, in a large sense, a Constitutionalist, since the authors of the Constitution shared the vision of the Declaration. A mere Constitutionalist, like Justice Scalia, will not go back to the Declaration in his thought, but rests his case on the positive law set out in the Constitution alone. In practise, the two camps will often, even usually, agree.
Hope that Keyes and I did a decent job of expressing our thought, and that you find this reply helpful.
Richard F.