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Overview
"We the People: A Constitutional Primer for All Ages" is about the historical context of the US Constitution. If you understand context, it helps you understand the how and why of things, whether it's the Constitution or two kids fighting over a game. It is not about politics per se or current events. Examples use video games and other pop culture references, not foreign policy, in explanations, so it's engaging and understandable for middle and high school students as well as adults.
Recently, the news has been unusually full of references to whether something is constitutional or unconstitutional, and they have been big issues like health care reform and immigration, but most Americans do not really understand or know the Constitution, and do not have time for an in-depth analysis of it. This book is written in language that is understandable to average, busy people, not just Constitutional scholars.
Although it was inspired by current events, it is not about current events. The references are at least twenty years old because the intent is to help the reader learn about the Constitution, not to be part of current political debates and not to convince the reader to believe what the author believes. Rather than stating political beliefs as certainties, there are a lot of questions designed to get you to consider your own political beliefs more deeply and to form your own opinions.
Amazon.com Kindle automatically uses the first 10% of a book as the free preview, but that happens to be introductory and general information, not any explanations of the actual Constitution. The explanation of the 12th Amendment is included below to help you decide to buy this book.
12th Amendment
This section changes the way the President and Vice President are elected. Previously, all candidates were voted for at the same time in Presidential elections. The one with the most votes was President, and the next-most was Vice-President. Our first President under the Constitution, George Washington was elected unanimously. Our second, John Adams received the most votes in 1796 and his bitter rival Thomas Jefferson the second most, making him the Vice President. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr were tied, but their intention when they ran was for Jefferson to be President and Burr Vice President. When Burr did not remove himself from the Presidential race and ultimately came in second, that left bad feelings. They were nevertheless President and Vice President together for the next four years. This Amendment was passed in 1803 and ratified in less than eight months.
In some ways, having two strong people with different views as President and Vice President seems like it might be an improvement over the current system, where the President tends to have a much stronger personality, stronger views, stronger everything, than the Vice President, a person who could, after all, end up as President someday. But imagine President Krabs and Vice President Plankton. How do you think they would manage to agree with each other enough to actually govern? Do you think they could get past the fact that they have been bitter rivals since Mr. Krabs opened the Krusty Krab and Plankton started trying to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula? Now imagine President Sandy and Vice President SpongeBob. How do you think they would do compared to Krabs and Plankton? Do you think Sandy�s problem solving skills and SpongeBob�s ability to get along with anyone will help them perform better?
Recently, the news has been unusually full of references to whether something is constitutional or unconstitutional, and they have been big issues like health care reform and immigration, but most Americans do not really understand or know the Constitution, and do not have time for an in-depth analysis of it. This book is written in language that is understandable to average, busy people, not just Constitutional scholars.
Although it was inspired by current events, it is not about current events. The references are at least twenty years old because the intent is to help the reader learn about the Constitution, not to be part of current political debates and not to convince the reader to believe what the author believes. Rather than stating political beliefs as certainties, there are a lot of questions designed to get you to consider your own political beliefs more deeply and to form your own opinions.
Amazon.com Kindle automatically uses the first 10% of a book as the free preview, but that happens to be introductory and general information, not any explanations of the actual Constitution. The explanation of the 12th Amendment is included below to help you decide to buy this book.
12th Amendment
This section changes the way the President and Vice President are elected. Previously, all candidates were voted for at the same time in Presidential elections. The one with the most votes was President, and the next-most was Vice-President. Our first President under the Constitution, George Washington was elected unanimously. Our second, John Adams received the most votes in 1796 and his bitter rival Thomas Jefferson the second most, making him the Vice President. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr were tied, but their intention when they ran was for Jefferson to be President and Burr Vice President. When Burr did not remove himself from the Presidential race and ultimately came in second, that left bad feelings. They were nevertheless President and Vice President together for the next four years. This Amendment was passed in 1803 and ratified in less than eight months.
In some ways, having two strong people with different views as President and Vice President seems like it might be an improvement over the current system, where the President tends to have a much stronger personality, stronger views, stronger everything, than the Vice President, a person who could, after all, end up as President someday. But imagine President Krabs and Vice President Plankton. How do you think they would manage to agree with each other enough to actually govern? Do you think they could get past the fact that they have been bitter rivals since Mr. Krabs opened the Krusty Krab and Plankton started trying to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula? Now imagine President Sandy and Vice President SpongeBob. How do you think they would do compared to Krabs and Plankton? Do you think Sandy�s problem solving skills and SpongeBob�s ability to get along with anyone will help them perform better?
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940012330277 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Bethanne Kim |
| Publication date: | 04/11/2011 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 138 KB |
About the Author
I earned my bachelors in International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. I did my minimum number of political sciences classes, and promptly forgot whatever it was my professors wanted me to retain. I later bought a beautiful copy of the Constitution at Barnes & Noble (on the bargain rack) and put it on a bookshelf to gather dust while I tended to my family.
And then came news articles about a federal lawsuit claiming the Arizona Immigration Law is unconstitutional, and more articles because over half the states are suing because they believe the health care reform bill (commonly called Obamacare) is unconstitutional. At this point, I can't even recall all the times constitutionality has come up in the news in the past year.
As a result, I decided that I needed to learn more about the Constitution. But I couldn't find anything that helped me understand why it was written instead of how government works today, and I'm certainly not interested in anything written in Lawyer or Academic, as many of the books on the Constitution are.
I hope you choose to buy my book, but even if you don't, please take some time to learn our history and our Constitution. It's important - and context matters.
And then came news articles about a federal lawsuit claiming the Arizona Immigration Law is unconstitutional, and more articles because over half the states are suing because they believe the health care reform bill (commonly called Obamacare) is unconstitutional. At this point, I can't even recall all the times constitutionality has come up in the news in the past year.
As a result, I decided that I needed to learn more about the Constitution. But I couldn't find anything that helped me understand why it was written instead of how government works today, and I'm certainly not interested in anything written in Lawyer or Academic, as many of the books on the Constitution are.
I hope you choose to buy my book, but even if you don't, please take some time to learn our history and our Constitution. It's important - and context matters.
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