The Meese Revolution: Steve Calabresi Pens Book on Former U.S. Attorney General

Steven G. Calabresi, the Clayton J. & Henry R. Barber Professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, recently released a book titled The Meese Revolution: The Making of a Constitutional Moment (2024, Encounter Books). Co-authored by Steve Calabresi and Gary Lawson, the book delves into the influential tenure of former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III, who served under President Ronald Reagan.

“Ed Meese was, and still is, the most influential attorney general to have ever served,” says Calabresi. “He was by Reagan’s side through virtually every major decision and achievement, from winning the Cold War without firing a shot to sparking the economic boom of the 1980s.”

A right-hand man to Meese, Calabresi served as his special assistant during Reagan’s eight-year tenure and had a unique perspective, with a chance to help shape decision-making and witness firsthand the relationship between Meese and the former president. His experience makes him ideally situated to pen the book on the former attorney general’s expansive impact on the judicial and executive branches—an impact that remains prominent even today.

Ed Meese: Architect of Originalism

In The Meese Revolution, the authors argue that Meese played a significant role in bringing the concept of originalism to the highest courts. Originalism, by definition, is a judicial philosophy that interprets the Constitution based on its original meaning at the time it was enacted.

“Originalism, as it has evolved, suggests that the Constitution or a statute be interpreted by looking at the meaning the words had when they were enacted to law,” Calabresi says. “This includes even circumstances the original authors could not have anticipated, such as advances in technology and medicine.”

According to Calabresi, not only did Meese bring originalism to the Supreme Court and other lower courts, but his work also helped inspire the way most judges and attorneys interpret law to this day.

“When Meese became attorney general, most judges were making decisions based strictly on policy preference,” he says. “But by the end of his tenure, a vast majority were using originalism to determine their votes. This shift remains in place today, 40 years later.”

Calabresi adds that originalism, at its core, plays a pivotal role in providing more certainty in the judicial decision-making process. “Originalism provides a way of resolving disputes that promotes economic growth and freedom,” he says. “It reinforces the rule of law, and without the rule of law, society runs the risk of becoming uncertain—two, 10, even 20 years from now.”

Beyond Judiciary

In the book, the authors assert not only Meese’s strong championship of originalism, but also his influence over every aspect of Reagan’s accomplishments. From hand-picking Supreme Court justices and Reagan’s chief of staff to other executive decisions, Calabresi says that Meese was by the former president’s side each step of the way.

“Ed was one of five people in the room when Reagan was trying to pick a running mate,” he says. “At that time, Ed encouraged him to pick George H.W. Bush. As we know, this ended up being a monumental decision, because Bush was president for four years, and then his son was president for eight years. Without Ed’s advice, this may have never happened.”

According to Calabresi, Meese’s influence also reached matters of national security.

“Ed Meese is the only attorney general I’m aware of who served continuously on the National Security Council for all eight years of a presidency,” Steve adds. “He supported a tough-on-Russia policy, for example, and the president always sided with Meese on matters of foreign affairs.”

Calabresi’s Journey to Discover Originalism

Calabresi became interested in law and politics at a young age, which served as a catalyst for his education and career path.

“I began reading a newspaper, along with Time and Newsweek, when I was 10,” he says. “Then, I became very interested in politics and government in 10th grade American history class.”

Calabresi noted that he became well-read on government and specifically the judicial branch. While in high school, he read Supreme Court opinions and the Federalist Papers for the first time. Having grown up in the late ’50s and ’60s, Steve recalls an enormous amount of political uncertainty, which bolstered his interests.

“I grew up during the civil rights movement. At the age of 10, I remember vividly when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, which was horrifying,” he says. “In high school, I was very strongly anti-communist. My father and grandparents had been refugees from Mussolini’s Italy. Communism, at that time in Soviet Russia, felt a lot like fascism.”

Calabresi’s interests continued through undergraduate school and subsequently law school, where he attended Yale University. While at Yale, he took numerous constitutional law courses. At that time, he was also inspired by the originalist views of Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black and Yale faculty members such as Robert Bork, who also served as U.S. Solicitor General. During Calabresi’s first year of law school, Ronald Reagan was elected president.

In 1982, Calabresi co-founded the Federalist Society, an organization supporting originalism and committed to ideals of individual liberty, traditional values, and the rule of law. Now 43 years later, the Federalist Society has become a major organization that distributes scholarship and regularly convenes conservative and libertarian lawyers, law professors, judges, and others.

Following his graduation from Yale Law School in 1983, Calabresi went on to clerk for prominent judicial figures, including Judges Ralph Winter Jr. and Robert Bork and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He was Ed Meese’s special assistant from 1985 until 1987. In 1990, Steve joined the faculty at Northwestern Pritzker Law. During his long tenure, he has also served visiting appointments at Yale University, Brown University, Roger Williams University, and Harvard University. Throughout his legal scholarship and pedagogy, the concept of originalism and Ed Meese’s influence on jurisprudence has remained central.