Read complete books and articles on: Bill of Rights

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16 of the Best Books and Articles on: Bill of Rights

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

The Bill of Rights: Its Origin and Meaning » Read Now
by Irving Brant. 567 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
2.

The Birth of the Bill of Rights: 1776-1791 » Read Now
by Robert Allen Rutland. 250 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
3.

The United States Constitution: Questions and Answers (Chap. 6 "Amendments One through Twelve: The Bill of Rights and the Eleventh and Twelfth Amendments") » Read Now
by John R. Vile. 320 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

BL What famous American refused to attend the Constitutional Convention because he "smelt a rat?" BL Why was a Bill of Rights omitted from the original Constitution? BL Can a president be sued for actions he takes in office? BL On what grounds may Congress punish its members? BL Where did the...
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BL What famous American refused to attend the Constitutional Convention because he "smelt a rat?" BL Why was a Bill of Rights omitted from the original Constitution? BL Can a president be sued for actions he takes in office? BL On what grounds may Congress punish its members? BL Where did the expression "separate but equal" originate? BL Do juvenile defendants have the same constitutional protection as adults? BL Is obscenity protected by the First Amendment freedoms of speech and press? BL What is the Lemon test? BL What is the only Constitutional Amendment that has been ratified by special state conventions rather than by state legislatures? These and other provocative questions are answered in this easy-to-follow guide that makes learning about the Constitution fun for students. Written clearly, this guide addresses those topics of the Constitution students inquire most about, from its origins and background through the adoption of the 27th Amendment. The information in each chapter is organized in a logical progression to carry the reader along to a basic understanding of the provisions and is peppered with fascinating facts and intriguing legal interpretations of topics of interest to young adults.
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4.

Freedom and the Court: Civil Rights and Liberties in the United States (Chap. III "The Bill of Rights and Its Applicability to the States") » Read Now
by Henry J. Abraham. 344 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library
5.

The Supreme Court and Civil Liberties: How the Court Has Protected the Bill of Rights » Read Now
by Osmond K. Fraenkel. 167 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library
6.

One Man's Stand for Freedom: Mr. Justice Black and the Bill of Rights: A Collection of His Supreme Court Opinions » Read Now
by Irving Dilliard. 510 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
7.

Forge of Union, Anvil of Liberty: A Correspondent's Report on the First Federal Elections, the First Federal Congress, and the Bill of Rights » Read Now
by Jeffrey St. John. 276 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

One of the most important news stories of the last two centuries comes to life in this "eyewitness account" of America's first Federal elections and of the First Congress and President Washington creating the Bill of Rights. In this swift-moving and colorful chronicle, written by St. John as though...
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One of the most important news stories of the last two centuries comes to life in this "eyewitness account" of America's first Federal elections and of the First Congress and President Washington creating the Bill of Rights. In this swift-moving and colorful chronicle, written by St. John as though he were an on-the-scene reporter, you will discover how Congressman James Madison became in the formative months of the new Republic the power behind Washington in the executive branch--while wheeling and dealing in Congress, and still championing a separation of powers; how Madison had to fight both friend and foe of the Constitution to pass a Federal Bill of Rights in the First Congress; why Washington and Madison saw the future of America in the frontier West and not in Europe; and how Spanish and British intrigues, with the aid of hostile Indian tribes on the American frontier, posed a threat to the survival of the new national government. Retired Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Warren E. Burger said,,"this book, like the first two of St. John's trilogy, tells an exciting story of our nation's founding, which should engage readers of all ages and backgrounds". This book and its predecessors are a captivating history lesson--told like a banner headline news story--for Americans wanting to know the roots of the political freedoms they enjoy today.
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8.

James Madison on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights » Read Now
by Robert J. Morgan. 224 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

"Morgan provides a comprehensive, consistent, and unified analysis of Madison's political philosophy using Madison's views on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as the focus. Morgan looks at all that Madison wrote on these topics before, during, and after the adoption of the Constitution. He...
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"Morgan provides a comprehensive, consistent, and unified analysis of Madison's political philosophy using Madison's views on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as the focus. Morgan looks at all that Madison wrote on these topics before, during, and after the adoption of the Constitution. He argues that Madison's constitutional philosophy was shaped by his view that there was an inherent conflict between limited government and accountability on the one hand, and the tendency of all to exercise autonomous, unrestricted power. . . . His second thesis is that Madison was propelled to become a constitutional reformer not by any desire to curb democracy but by the need to preserve both the union and republican government. Morgan emphasizes the impact of the American experience in shaping Madison's thought as well as its eclectic character." Choice
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9.

The Age of Federalism ("A Bill of Rights and a Judiciary System" begins on p. 58) » Read Now
by Stanley Elkins, Eric McKitrick. 925 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

When Thomas Jefferson took the oath of office for the presidency in 1801, America had just passed through twelve critical years, years dominated by some of the towering figures of our history and by the challenge of having to do everything for the first time. Washington, Hamilton, Madison, Adams...
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When Thomas Jefferson took the oath of office for the presidency in 1801, America had just passed through twelve critical years, years dominated by some of the towering figures of our history and by the challenge of having to do everything for the first time. Washington, Hamilton, Madison, Adams, and Jefferson himself each had a share in shaping that remarkable era--an era that is brilliantly captured in The Age of Federalism. Written by esteemed historians Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick, The Age of Federalism gives us a reflective, deeply informed analytical survey of this extraordinary period. Ranging over the widest variety of concerns--political, cultural, economic, diplomatic, and military--the authors provide a sweeping historical account, keeping always in view not only the problems the new nation faced but also the particular individuals who tried to solve them. As they move through the Federalist era, they draw subtly perceptive character sketches not only of the great figures--Washington and Jefferson, Talleyrand and Napoleon Bonaparte--but also of lesser ones, such as George Hammond, Britain's frustrated minister to the United States, James McHenry, Adams's hapless Secretary of War, the pre-Chief Justice version of John Marshall, and others. They weave these lively profiles into an analysis of the central controversies of the day, turning such intricate issues as the public debt into fascinating depictions of opposing political strategies and contending economic philosophies. Each dispute bears in some way on the broader story of the emerging nation. The authors show, for instance, the consequences the fight over Hamilton's financial system had for the locating of the nation's permanent capital, and how it widened an ideological gulf between Hamilton and the Virginians, Madison and Jefferson, that became unbridgeable. The statesmen of the founding generation, the authors believe, did "a surprising number of things right." But Elkins and McKitrick also describe some things that went resoundingly wrong: the hopelessly underfinanced effort to construct a capital city on the Potomac (New York, they argue, would have been a far more logical choice than Washington), and prosecutions under the Alien and Sedition Acts which turned into a comic nightmare. No detail is left out, or left uninteresting, as their account continues through the Adams presidency, the XYZ affair, the naval Quasi-War with France, and the desperate Federalist maneuvers in 1800, first to prevent the reelection of Adams and then to nullify the election of Jefferson. The Age of Federalism is the fruit of many years of discussion and thought, in which deep scholarship is matched only by the lucid distinction of its prose. With it, Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick have produced the definitive study, long awaited by historians, of the early national era.
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10.

No State Shall Abridge: The 14th Amendment and the Bill of Rights » Read Now
by Michael Kent Curtis. 276 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This work focuses on the issue of whether the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution was designed to bring the states under the provisions of the Bill of Rights. The author traces the origins of the Fourteenth Amendment and provides a comprehensive look into the lawmakers intent. He negates the...
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This work focuses on the issue of whether the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution was designed to bring the states under the provisions of the Bill of Rights. The author traces the origins of the Fourteenth Amendment and provides a comprehensive look into the lawmakers intent. He negates the recently emerging idea that the incorporation doctrine is based on shaky historical foundations.
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11.

Inherent Rights, the Written Constitution, and Popular Sovereignty: The Founders' Understanding (Chap. 5 "The Ratification-Era Debate over the Omission of a Bill of Rights: The Constitution as Fundamental Positive Law") » Read Now
by Thomas B. McAffee. 194 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

In recent decades the Ninth Amendment, a provision designed to clarify that the federal government was to be one of enumerated and limited powers, has been turned into an unenumerated rights clause that effectively grants unlimited power to the judiciary. Was this the intent of the framers of the...
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In recent decades the Ninth Amendment, a provision designed to clarify that the federal government was to be one of enumerated and limited powers, has been turned into an unenumerated rights clause that effectively grants unlimited power to the judiciary. Was this the intent of the framers of the Constitution? McAffee argues that the founders had a rather different set of priorities than ours, and that the goal of enforcing fundamental human rights was not why they drafted any of the first ten amendments. They did not intend to grant to the courts the power to generate fundamental rights, whether by reference to custom or history, reason or natural law, or societal values or consensus.
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12.

The First Freedom: Religion & the Bill of Rights » Read Now
by James E. Wood Jr. 182 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library
13.

The Bill of Rights and the Emerging Democracies, in Law and Contemporary Problems » Read Now
by Jacek Kurczewski, Barry Sullivan. 44 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library
14.

The Federalist Papers and the Bill of Rights, in Constitutional Commentary » Read Now
by Shlomo Slonim. 11 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library
15.

How American Judges Interpret the Bill of Rights, in Constitutional Commentary » Read Now
by Norman Dorsen. 15 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library
16.

Our Bill of Rights: What It Means to Me » Read Now
by James Waterman Wise. 146 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library