Provocative Essays on Judicial Review. This book contains five historical essays, three of them on the concept of"judicial review," which is defined as the power and duty of a court to disregard ultra vires legislative acts.. In "Marbury v. Madison and the Doctrine of Judicial Review," Corwin asks:"What is the exact legal basis of the power of the Supreme Court to pass uponthe constitutionality of acts of Congress?". "We, the People" examines the issues of secession and nullification.. "The Pelatiah Webster Myth" demolishes Hannis Taylor's thesis that Websterwas the "secret" author of the United States Constitution.. "The Dred Scott Decision" considers Chief Justice Taney's argumentconcerning Scott's title to citizenship under the Constitution.. "Some Possibilities in the Way of Treaty-Making" discusses how the USConstitution relates to international treaties.Edward S. Corwin [1878-1963] succeeded Woodrow Wilson as the McCormickProfessor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, and was the first chairmanof the Department of Politics. The author of numerous books on constitutionallaw, he is best known for The Constitution and What It Means Today (1920).He was the president of the American Political Science Association, winner ofthe American Philosophical Society's Franklin Medal and Phillips Prize and wasamong the notable scholars acknowledged at the Harvard Tercentenary. In 1952,Princeton's Woodrow Wilson Hall was renamed Edward S. Corwin Hall.