How to Read the Constitution--and Why

by Kim Wehle

Overview

"A must-read for this era.”—Jake Tapper, CNN Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent 

An insightful, urgent, and perennially relevant handbook that lays out in common sense language how the United States Constitution works, and how its protections are eroding before our eyes—essential reading for anyone who wants to understand and parse the constantly breaking news about the backbone of American government.

The Constitution is the most significant document in America. But do you fully understand what this valuable document means to you? In How to Read the Constitution--and Why, legal expert and educator Kimberly Wehle spells out in clear, simple, and common sense terms what is in the Constitution, and most importantly, what it means. In compelling terms and including text from the United States Constitution, she describes how the Constitution’s protections are eroding—not only in express terms but by virtue of the many legal and social norms that no longer shore up its legitimacy—and why every American needs to heed to this “red flag” moment in our democracy.

This invaluable—and timely—resource includes the Constitution in its entirety and covers nearly every significant aspect of the text,  from the powers of the President and how the three branches of government are designed to hold each other accountable, to what it means to have individual rights—including free speech, the right to bear arms, the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the right to an abortion. Finally, the book explains why it has never been more important than now for all Americans to know how our Constitution works—and why, if we don’t step in to protect it now, we could lose its protections forever.

How to Read the Constitution--and Why is essential reading for anyone who cares about maintaining an accountable government and the individual freedoms that the Constitution enshrines for everyone in America—regardless of political party.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062896315
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	06/25/2019
Series:	Legal Expert Series
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	359,728
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Kim Wehle is a tenured Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she teaches and writes on the constitutional separation of powers, administrative law, and civil procedure. She was formerly an Assistant United States Attorney and an Associate Counsel in the Whitewater Investigation. Professor Wehle has been a commentator for CBS News, as well as a Contributor for BBC World News and BBC World News America on PBS, an Op-Ed Contributor for The Bulwark, and an Opinion Contributor for The Hill. She has been a regular guest legal analyst on various media outlets regarding Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election and other issues regarding the structural Constitution and the Trump Administration, including on CNN, MSNBC, NPR’s Morning Edition, PBS NewsHour, and Fox News. Her articles have also appeared in the Baltimore Sun, the L.A. Times, and NBC News Think. She is regularly interviewed and cited by prominent print journalists on a range of legal issues. She lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with her children.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I Structure 29

Chapter 1 The Basics: Each Branch Has a Job Description-and Two Bosses 33

Chapter 2 Congress: Lots of Power to a Herd of Cats 55

Chapter 3 The (Real) Powers of the President: No More Kings 77

Chapter 4 The Courts: What Was That About Kings? 103

Part II Rights 117

Chapter 5 Speech, Religion, and the First Amendment 119

Chapter 6 Guns and the Second Amendment 149

Chapter 7 Crime and the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments 161

Chapter 8 Liberty and Equality: Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments 185

Chapter 9 What Does the Constitution Say About the States? 207

Part III Why Care? 217

Chapter 10 Why It Matters How Politicians Get Hired and Fired 219

Chapter 11 If the Constitution Stops Functioning, Why Should I Care? 241

Chapter 12 Sustaining Democracy: Some Takeaways 253

Acknowledgments 265

Glossary 267

The Constitution of the United States of America 273

Notes 295

Index 323

Editorial Reviews

06/14/2019

The oft-cited U.S. Constitution is a misunderstood document. In this engaging and informative analysis, CNN pundit Wehle (law, Univ. of Baltimore Sch. of Law) offers a detailed explanation for general readers. The author's approach is twofold: she describes the document's structure with the aid of useful analogies to business models ("The constitution does not put a single person in charge") and examines the list of rights we often take for granted. Wehle's succinct chapter on the Second Amendment is especially timely, as she asserts that a "strict reading" of the Constitution is a myth and that many words in its text are ambiguous. Phrases such as "separation of powers" and "checks and balances" do not appear in the Constitution, yet those principles are implied in the delineation of the powers granted to the three branches of government. Additionally, "American values" are not spelled out in the Constitution. The last section presents a discussion of why the Constitution matters and how it's basic concept of government is endangered. Sprinkled throughout are many examples from current politics, with President Donald Trump mentioned frequently. VERDICT People of all political persuasions will benefit from this book, especially with a battle looming between Congress and the president in the coming months. [See Prepub Alert, 11/5/18.]—Thomas Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PA

Library Journal

08/19/2019

In this accessible treatise, Wehle, a law professor and commentator for CNN and MSNBC, deplores the state of relationships among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the U.S. government. She argues that the “ingenious” checks and balances the Constitution establishes between the three branches are no longer working, and the executive branch is accumulating too much power. As evidence she cites Congress’s tolerance of the executive branch’s incursions into Congress’s power to declare war, the proliferation of executive orders that bypass congressional legislative priorities, and Congress’s reluctance to employ the Constitution’s emolument and impeachment clauses to check executive overreach. As causes, she identifies the flow of corporate money to political campaigns, state efforts to suppress voter participation, and polarized politics that hampers constructive policy making. She also opines that President Trump lacks respect for constitutional norms and that his behavior presents a realistic threat to democracy. Wehle elegantly translates the Constitution into layperson-friendly terms, using everyday analogies; she compares the American government to an ice cream parlor and an employee manual, and she uses Wallace Stevens’s poem “The Mind of Winter” to explain the plain-language approach to legal interpretation. Her analysis of the consolidation of power in the executive branch, though cogent, will probably only reach readers already concerned about President Trump. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Not since perhaps the Nixon years have there been so many valid questions about the U.S. Constitution and its role in our lives – and so many perceived challenges to it. Kim Wehle’s How to Read the Constitution—and Why provides essential, compelling reading on this glorious document. A must-read for this era.” — Jake Tapper, CNN Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent

“[An] accessible treatise… Wehle elegantly translates the Constitution into layperson-friendly terms.” — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Not since perhaps the Nixon years have there been so many valid questions about the U.S. Constitution and its role in our lives – and so many perceived challenges to it. Kim Wehle’s How to Read the Constitution—and Why provides essential, compelling reading on this glorious document. A must-read for this era.

Jake Tapper