Your Rugged Constitution: How America's House of Freedom is Planned and Built

by Bruce Allyn Findlay

Other authorsEsther Findlay (Author)

2014

Status

Available

Call number

T 4 Nation USA

Genres

Politics, Government, Law and Public Policy

All Topics

Nonfiction

Collection

T. Early Modern Times (US)

Publication

Stanford University Press (2014), Edition: 1, 296 pages

Description

Your Rugged Constitution was first published sixty-four years ago. It quickly became a go-to resource for generations of young Americans (and some older ones too) who wanted to understand the guiding principles of our nation. Now in reissue, this truly rugged and much-admired classic is sure to inform, and also delight readers with its retro 1950s ethos. Your Rugged Constitution proceeds through the text of the Constitution with descriptions that are put in clear, easy-to-understand language, accompanied by commentary and lively drawings so you can easily grasp all the ideas and concepts. Under each section and clause, you (yes, you, fellow American!) learn which powers you give to the federal government, and what you get in return. Your Rugged Constitution helps readers understand that the Constitution is no mere historical document, but an important contract between you and your government.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member keylawk

Bruce Findlay is Associate Superintendent of the Los Angeles city Schools. His wife, Esther Findlay is a teacher of English and Social Studies. This material was developed to teach students about what is in the Constitution. Helpful graphics/artistry.

Quoting the Amendment, the "common law" is

expressly preserved for courts in the United States. Amendment 7. But no real explanation of what this means.

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LibraryThing member gmillar

I felt a need to remind myself of what was in this thing called a constitution as current politics and electioneering seemed to be interpreting it in whatever way was necessary to make a point in favor of the person doing the quoting. This book is a little old but then so is the document it

presents. It gives the Articles by Section and Clause and uses its own modern language to explain what each Clause means - as the authors see it - and therein lies the problem all documents face: every written statement is interpretable. That's why there are so many different churches, mosques, synagogues, ashrams, etc and why we have a Supreme Court to do our interpreting for us. Sadly even the Supreme Court gets political depending on who sits on it. But - we in America are luckier than most peoples out there around the world, we can and do change things every 4 years to suit the times prevailing. If we ALL vote we can make it more representational of popular belief instead of a knee-jerk consequence of the First Amendment such as we suffer under in 2017.

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