How to read the Constitution and why

Kim Wehle

Book - 2019

"The Constitution is the most significant document in America. But do you fully understand what this valuable document means to you? In How to Read the Constitution--and Why, legal expert and educator Kimberly Wehle spells out in clear, simple, and common sense terms what is in the Constitution, and most importantly, what it means. In compelling terms and including text from the United States Constitution, she describes how the Constitution's protections are eroding--not only in express terms but by virtue of the many legal and social norms that no longer shore up its legitimacy--and why every American needs to heed to this "red flag" moment in our democracy. This invaluable--and timely--resource includes the Constitutio...n in its entirety and covers nearly every significant aspect of the text, from the powers of the President and how the three branches of government are designed to hold each other accountable, to what it means to have individual rights--including free speech, the right to bear arms, the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the right to an abortion. Finally, the book explains why it has never been more important than now for all Americans to know how our Constitution works--and why, if we don't step in to protect it now, we could lose its protections forever. How to Read the Constitution--and Why is essential reading for anyone who cares about maintaining an accountable government and the individual freedoms that the Constitution enshrines for everyone in America--regardless of political party."--Amazon.com

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Subjects
Published
New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers [2019]
Language
English
Main Author
Kim Wehle (author)
Edition
First edition
Item Description
Includes the complete text of the United States Constitution.
Physical Description
viii, 334 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780062914361
9780062896308
  • Part I: Structure. The basics: each branch has a job description--and two bosses
  • Congress: lots of power to a herd of cats
  • The (real) powers of the President: no more kings
  • The courts: what was that about kings?
  • Part II: Rights. Speech, religion, and the first amendment
  • Guns and the second amendment
  • Crime and the fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth amendments,
  • Liberty and equality: fifth and fourteenth amendments
  • What does the Constitution say about the states?
  • Part III: Why care? Why it matters how politicians get hired and fired
  • If the Constitution stops functioning, why should I care?
  • Sustaining democracy: some takeaways
  • Glossary
  • The Constitution of the United States.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In this accessible treatise, Wehle, a law professor and commentator for CNN and MSNBC, deplores the state of relationships among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the U.S. government. She argues that the "ingenious" checks and balances the Constitution establishes between the three branches are no longer working, and the executive branch is accumulating too much power. As evidence she cites Congress's tolerance of the executive branch's incursions into Congress's power to declare war, the proliferation of executive orders that bypass congressional legislative priorities, and Congress's reluctance to employ the Constitution's emolument and impeachment clauses to check executive overreach. As causes, she identifies the flow of corporate money to political campaigns, state efforts to suppress voter participation, and polarized politics that hampers constructive policy making. She also opines that President Trump lacks respect for constitutional norms and that his behavior presents a realistic threat to democracy. Wehle elegantly translates the Constitution into layperson-friendly terms, using everyday analogies; she compares the American government to an ice cream parlor and an employee manual, and she uses Wallace Stevens's poem "The Mind of Winter" to explain the plain-language approach to legal interpretation. Her analysis of the consolidation of power in the executive branch, though cogent, will probably only reach readers already concerned about President Trump. (June)

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