Brown, Everett S. The Constitutional History of the Louisiana Purchase 1803-1812. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1920. xi, 248 pp. Reprinted 2001 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN 1-58477-151-8. Cloth. $75. Originally published as Volume X of the University of California Publications in History series, Herbert E. Bolton, editor. With access to manuscripts never before utilized, Brown provides a coherent and interesting narrative that describes how the legislators of that time interpreted the constitution while dealing with the issues that arose as a consequence of the purchase of Louisiana. For example, an issue of far-reaching significance is the issue of slavery that was raised and debated decades before it became the issue that divided the country during the Senate debate on the Louisiana Government Bill. This work offers the first published account of that important debate.