A Pocket Guide to the U.S. Constitution

A Pocket Guide to the U.S. Constitution

• Used Book in Good Condition

<B> <P style="MARGIN: 0px" align=left text-align="left">This book tells you what experts assume you already know.</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px" align=left text-align="left"> </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px" align=left text-align="left"> </B>The available pocket-sized and back-of-the-textbook Constitutions don’t do enough. They format the Constitution like a short story. They leave out the names of articles, sections, and clauses. They leave out the standard numbering system. They don’t define basic terms.</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px" align=left text-align="left"> </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px" align=left text-align="left">My students need this information, so familiar to lawyers and scholars. When I ask students to turn to the “Commerce Clause,” I want us to end up in the same place (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3). And when we get there, I want them to know what it means.</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px" align=left text-align="left"> </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px" align=left text-align="left">Most non-pocket guides have the opposite problem. They tend to be massive and impenetrable. Scholars and lawyers examine the Constitution case by case, topic by topic, amendment by amendment. They use a specialized language. They assume their readers already know the subject, as well as the legal and scholarly debates. </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px" align=left text-align="left"> </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px" align=left text-align="left">But the Constitution is not only a matter of scholarly, legal debate; it is part of the way Americans live. It is how we understand our rights and obligations as people and as A People–every day. We need a guide that will fit in a pocket, briefcase, or backpack. We need a way to answer basic questions that arise day to day, or in a class period, or in the course of reading more in-depth books on the topic.</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px" align=left text-align="left"> </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px" align=left text-align="left"> <B>This book is a place to begin to understand the United States Constitution. </B>It is as complete as I can make it and still have it fit in your pocket. It’s as simple as I can make and still have it be accurate.</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px" align=left text-align="left"> </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px" align=left text-align="left">Andrew B. Arnold, Ph.D.</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">Kutztown, Pennsylvania</P>