Constituting the Constitution: Understanding the American Constitution Through the British Cultural Constitution‪.‬

Reference is often made to the legal philosophical, and historical progenitors of the American Constitution in ideas derived from Great Britain, such as the writings of John Locke or William Blackstone, and familiar documents like the Magna Carta or The Petition of Right of 1628. Perhaps an even more significant constitutional heritage may be found in our inheritance of the British appreciation for the customary or cultural foundations of fundamental law. This appreciation for what is often termed the "organic" constitution, beholden philosophically to Aristotle, Aquinas, and Burke, emphasizes how a society or nation is "constituted," and the implications of that social constitution for the written or codified document. In this respect, the example of British constitutionalism may be helpful in understanding the proper approach to American constitutional interpretation. I. BRITAIN'S "CONSTITUTED" CONSTITUTION