The United States of America: A Study in International Organization

Scott, James Brown. The United States of America: A Study in International Organization. New York: Oxford University Press, 1920. xix, 605 pp. Reprinted 2003 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. LCCN 00-067016. ISBN 1-58477-171-2. Cloth. $120. * With an extensive appendix of source readings. Scott [1866-1943] presents a detailed and comprehensively documented history of the American Constitution from its roots in the Mayflower Compact and other colonial associations through the Eighteenth Amendment. It can be read in this regard as a survey history. His study is especially interesting, however, as a political document written to address the effects of the First World War. Scott wrote this book for a European audience, hoping that his analysis of the Constitution would influence the creation of an international organization of states governed by a "Court of Nations" modeled on the American Supreme Court. As such, he emphasizes the Constitution's role as an agent of peace and cooperation among different political units. Scott's ideas were later reflected in the establishment of the International Court of Justice, the League of Nations and the United Nations.