Ebook: The Bill of Rights: a user's guide

In The Bill of Rights: A User's Guide, constitutional scholar Linda R. Monk explores the remarkable history of the Bill of Rights, the Supreme Court's interpretation of each right, and the power of citizens to enforce those rights. Stories of the ordinary people who made the Bill of Rights come alive are featured throughout. These include Fannie Lou Hamer, a Mississippi sharecropper who became a national civil rights leader; Mary Beth Tinker, a 13-year-old whose protest of the Vietnam War established free speech rights for students; and Simon Tam, a millennial whose 10-year trademark battle for his band "The Slants" ended in a unanimous Supreme Court victory. Such people prove that, in the words of Judge Learned Hand, "Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court, can save it." Monk explores the history, scope, and meaning of the first ten amendments--as well as the Fourteenth Amendment, which nationalized them and included a new right of equality for all under the law. The Bill of Rights is a powerful examination of the values that define American life--back cover.