Timely and provocative asessment of various cultural, moral, and political problems in post-constitutional America.America is increasingly defined not only by routine disregard for its fundamental laws, but also by the decadent character of its political leaders and citizens-widespread consumerism and self-indulgent behavior, cultural hedonism and anarchy, the coarsening of moral and political discourse, and a reckless interventionism in international relations. In The Historical Mind, various scholars argue that America's problems are rooted in its people's refusal to heed the lessons of historical experience and to adopt constitutional checks or self-imposed restraints on their cultural, moral, and political lives. Drawing inspiration from the humanism of Irving Babbitt and Claes G.