Some Books about Amendment - Happy Amendment Reading!

Stephen Halbrook's The Founders' Second Amendment is the first book-length account of the origins of the Second Amendment, based on the Founders' own statements as found in newspapers, correspondence, debates, and resolutions Mr. Halbrook investigates the period from 1768 to 1826, from the last years of British rule and the American Revolution through to the adoption of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and the passing of the Founders' generation. His book offers the most comprehensive analysis of the arguments behind the drafting and adoption of the Second Amendment, and the intentions of the men who created it. With the question of the right to bear arms scheduled to come before the Supreme Court in the spring of 2008, The Founders' Second Amendment could scarcely be more timely..
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Collected here in one affordable volume are the most important documents of the United States of America: The Constitution of the United States of America, with the Bill of Rights and all of the Amendments; The Declaration of Independence; and the Articles of Confederation These three documents are the basis for our entire way of life. Every citizen should have a copy..
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From one of the country's most esteemed experts on the First Amendment and the author of the classic Gideon's Trumpet, an eloquent essay on the importance of freedom of expression.

More than any other people on earth, Americans are free to say and write what they think. The media can air the secrets of the White House, the boardroom, or the bedroom with little fear of punishment or penalty. The reason for this extraordinary freedom is not a superior culture of tolerance, but just fourteen words in our most fundamental legal document: the free expression clauses of the First Amendment to the Constitution.

In Lewis's telling, the story of how the right of free expression evolved along with our nation makes a compelling case for the adaptability of our constitution. Although Americans have gleefully and sometimes outrageously exercised their right to free speech since before the nation's founding, the Supreme Court did not begin to recognize this right until 1919. Freedom of speech and the press as we know it today is surprisingly recent. Anthony Lewis tells us how these rights were created, revealing a story of hard choices, heroic (and some less heroic) judges, and fascinating and eccentric defendants who forced the legal system to come face-to-face with one of America's great founding ideas..
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This past June, the Supreme Court decided a question at the heart of one of America's most impassioned debates, ruling that individual citizens have the constitutional right to possess guns. With that decision, the District's handgun ban--one of the toughest and most controversial in the nation--was ended. In Gun Control on Trial, journalist Brian Doherty tells the full story behind the landmark District of Columbia v. Heller ruling. With exclusive, behind the scenes access throughout the case, Doherty delved into the issues of this monumental case to provide a compelling look at the inside stories, including: The plaintiffs' fight for the right to protect themselves and their families from violent neighborhoods. The activist lawyers who worked exhaustively to affirm that right. The forces that fought to stop the case, including city officials and the NRA. The story of the Heller case stretches back to long before the decision struck down D.C.'s restrictive gun ban and forward to the future of the political and legal battle over gun control in America. Doherty provides clear, concise explanations of the issues and battles that have driven the gun control debate for decades, detailing how the Heller decision is a new starting point for the gun control debate as it passionately and energetically continues in the years ahead. It's important to note that the Heller decision does not settle every controversy in the gun control debate. It only settles the legal question of whether or not the right to possess weapons under the Second Amendment extends to personal self-defense: it does, writes Doherty. What the Supreme Court decided in Heller may be narrow in its direct and immediate effect; but it's deep in its implications for the relationship between the government and the American people, explains Doherty. It establishes a new shape to the arena in which the legal and political struggle over guns and gun control will be fought. And that fight assuredly continues..
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Freedom of speech, historically one of our most cherished rights, faces new challenges today. From the Internet and V-chips to campaign finance reform and the Patriot Act, new technology and social issues raise difficult First Amendment issues.

This award-winning text offers a clear, thorough, and fascinating introduction to the complex history and current interpretations of our free speech principles. Beginning with the roots of Western free speech concepts in classical Greek thought and British common law, it traces the development of contemporary freedoms and controls from colonial times to the present, through significant legislation and Supreme Court cases. It explores issues arising from sedition, blasphemy, obscenity, political protest, commercial advertising, the right of the press to report news and express opinion, Internet access and filters, and other controversial issues.

Important reading for students of the First Amendment, Freedom of Speech in the United States guides readers to an understanding of complex concepts with clear explanations, brief abstracts of major court cases, and numerous study aids.

Thoroughly updated, the fifth edition shows how historical challenges to freedom of speech arise anew with the emergence of new technologies, political issues, and social concerns.

FEATURES

Clear, engaging writing provides an excellent introduction for readers with no legal background.

Unique historical perspective shows evolution of current freedoms and limitations.

Boxed summaries of major cases describe facts of each case, the decision, and its importance.

Succinct explanations of major theorists (Chapter 15) show key perspectives.

Abundant internal summaries and study aids guide student reading.

30 historical and contemporary illustrations bring history alive.

FEATURES OF THE NEW EDITION

Reflects current case law and decisions, including decisions from the 2004 Supreme Court session.

Reflects current issues such as the USA Patriot Act, cyberporn, campaign finance reform, abortion clinic protests, others.

New section on "Reasons for Free Speech" (Chapter 15)..
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Mining an intense commitment and driving vision to reach today's students, combined with teaching experience of nearly 50 years, the authors of this new text offer an exciting alternative in the field of mass media law. Highly praised by reviewers, the book's dynamic visual design and innovative pedagogy engage contemporary students--complementing the comprehensive coverage and organization seen in traditional texts. The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication features a wealth of new elements and strategies that encourage students to read the text closely and aid in critical evaluation of the complex and shifting field of media law. ..
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This book is designed for a two or three unit course in the First Amendment The authors present the materials in a way that permits instructors to depart from the organization of the casebook with relative ease. The authors also try to expose students to original perspectives or perspectives they might otherwise miss. Notes and questions enable students to study the variety of competing views embodying the First Amendment as they emerge from concrete cases rather than from abstract characterization and classification imposed on the student at the outset of the study..
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Today we hold the Constitution in such high regard that we can hardly imagine how hotly contested was its adoption Now Richard Labunski offers a dramatic account of a time when the entire American experiment hung in the balance, only to be saved by the most unlikely of heroes--the diminutive and exceedingly shy James Madison.
Here is a vividly written account of not one but several major political struggles which changed the course of American history. Labunski takes us inside the sweltering converted theater in Richmond, where for three grueling weeks, the soft-spoken Madison and the charismatic Patrick Henry fought over whether Virginia should ratify the Constitution. Madison won the day by a handful of votes, mollifying Anti-Federalist fears by promising to add a bill of rights to the Constitution. To do this, Madison would have to win a seat in the First Congress, which he did by a tiny margin, allowing him to attend the First Congress and sponsor the Bill of Rights.
Packed with colorful details about life in early America, this compelling and important narrative is the first serious book about Madison written in many years. It will return this under-appreciated patriot to his rightful place among the Founding Fathers and shed new light on a key turning point in our nation's history.
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