U.S. Constitution (Brock, Euverard 7th Grade): Books and eBooks

The U.S. Constitution--with its message of liberty, the primacy of the will of the people, government accountability, separation of powers, and other democratic principles--continues today to be the model for other nations. This anthology traces the history of the framing of the Constitution in 1787 and discusses the document's important provisions, its amendments, and its legacy for subsequent generations of Americans.

THE WORDS WE LIVE BY takes an entertaining and informative look at America's most important historical document. In THE WORDS WE LIVE BY, Linda Monk probes the idea that the Constitution may seem to offer cut-and-dried answers to questions regarding personal rights, but the interpretations of this hallowed document are nearly infinite. For example, in the debate over gun control, does "the right of the people to bear arms" as stated in the Second Amendment pertain to individual citizens or regulated militias? What do scholars say? Should the Internet be regulated and censored, or does this impinge on the freedom of speech as defined in the First Amendment? These and other issues vary depending on the interpretation of the Constitution.

When the Delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution, they knew it was not perfect. They were concerned their government might be too powerful and not respect the rights of its citizens. So at the first session of the United States Congress in 1789, they voted on a set of ten amendments, aimed to preserve and protect the rights and liberties of all citizens. These ten amendments comprise the Bill of Rights. As our country has grown, American citizens have continued to rely on this landmark document as a means to defend the liberties of all, across boundaries of race and gender, age and class, religion and ethics.

Primary and secondary sources present differing perspectives on the right to a jury trial, the Supreme Court definition of the right to a jury trial, and controversies surrounding the right.

Primary and secondary sources present differing perspectives on the intent of the Founding Fathers in protecting individual gun rights and whether they intended citizens to be armed and the Supreme Court cases dealing with gun owners' rights.

Primary and secondary sources present differing perspectives on the history of religious rights, the Establishment Clause of the Constitution, the Free-exercise Clause and the Supreme Court, and the separation of church and state.

Primary and secondary sources present differing perspectives on the history of free speech in America, balancing free speech with community order and national security, obscenity, and current controversies.

Primary and secondary sources present differing perspectives on history of the concept of a free press, the Supreme Court and the free press, and the right of the press to travel with combat troops.