The Bill of Rights: The First Ten Amendments of the Constitution [Library Binding]

David L., Jr. Hudson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Constitution | Publication Date: November 2002

Traces the history of the writing of the first ten amendments to the Constitution, and examines each amendment's provisions and applications in detail.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Reviewed with David L. Hudson's The Fourteenth Amendment.

Gr. 5-8. From the Constitution series, these books provide clearly written explanations of the history and content of the Bill of Rights and one of its most significant amendments. In Bill of Rights, Hudson offers a lucid introduction to the document's "ancestry," its creation, and how its protections have affected many social issues and legal cases in American history. Though some sections of The Fourteenth Amendment deal with issues and conditions that arose in the wake of the Civil War, other sections are pertinent today. The "equal protection" and "due process" phrases have been the basis for many significant legal decisions, including those dealing with abortion, discrimination, and physician-assisted suicide. Hudson cogently discusses several of these and other cases. Each book includes the text of the Constitution and a list of the amendments with brief comments identifying the subjects they address. Source notes and lists of recommended books and Web sites are also appended. Two more volumes appear in the Series Roundup. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Library Binding: 128 pages
• Publisher: Enslow Publishers (November 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0766019039
• ISBN-13: 978-0766019034
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,719,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David L. Hudson, Jr. is a First Amendment Scholar with the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University. He teaches at Vanderbilt University Law School and Nashville School of Law.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I can't overlook the bias, September 20, 2003

By 

Monty Rainey (New Braunfels, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Bill of Rights: The First Ten Amendments of the Constitution (Library Binding)

How disappointing it is to finish a relatively good piece of work only to be left with a rather bad taste in your mouth. Such is the case with this work by David L Hudson, Jr. Hudson does a good job of assimilating a basic guide for the novice of the American Bill of Rights, but seemed unable to abstain from injecting personal bias.
With a subject so dear and precious to Americans, political bias must be strictly avoided at all costs, and to the novice, Hudson quite cleverly masks that bias. However, deeper reflection reveals injected tidbits of liberal dogma. Hudson even goes so far as to cite the well known liberal revisionist historian, Howard Zinn as a reference source. Such inflection quickly discredits an otherwise credible work.

For the student and novice, there is some good information here, but read with caution. The shameful part is, 99% of this book is very well done and successfully reflects both sides of the issue. All in all, this is a fine work and valuable to every American, especially the student.

The first half of the book gives a brief analysis of each Amendment, their history, a brief synopsis on James Madison and simplified chapter on Amending the Constitution. The last half of the book examines each Amendment with popular legal cases rooted in each. The book concludes with the U.S. Constitution printed in its entirety.

For a novice seeking a basic knowledge of the Bill of Rights, this book would suit nicely, but if you are looking for indepth analysis, there are other books available that would be a much better source, such as The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction by Akhil Reed Amar, or Origins of the Bill of Rights by Leonard Williams Levy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Foundational Reading, November 22, 2002

By 

John Ferguson (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bill of Rights: The First Ten Amendments of the Constitution (Library Binding)

As a Constitutional attorney, I can say without reservation that David L. Hudson's book The Bill of Rights: The First Ten Amendments of the Constitution is a must read for school children and adults alike. In an era when fundamental Constitutional rights are daily called into jeopardy from all sides, citizens need to know about the provisions that protect these basic rights. If students are to grow into the next generation of leaders, politicians and voters, then they must receive some grounding in the basic elements of how their government is designed and how democracy is supposed to work. Mr. Hudson's work provides insight into one of the most crucial building blocks in American Democracy, the Bill of Rights.

While these books are designed for students from the 6th grade up, I would recommend adults read this primer on the Bill of Rights. Beginning with an examination of where these amendments came from, Mr. Hudson shifts to provide examples of why these amendments are still vital in modern life. In any event, classrooms and libraries alike would do well to have copies of this work as a reference. Mr. Hudson's book would also provide a valuable augment to social studies, history, and government curriculums. By providing legal, historical, and even biographical information, this work grounds students in the broader context of the Bill of Rights, both then and now.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Book for Classrooms, March 13, 2004

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"computer_girl112" (Statesboro, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bill of Rights: The First Ten Amendments of the Constitution (Library Binding)

This chapter book does a good job of explaining all of the ten Bill of Rights in detail. The book starts with the first amendment and goes through all ten amendments. The development and value of each amendment is explained thoroughly. This book would be a good one to use when a teacher is introducing a theme cycle about the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. A them cycle about the Bill of Rights would have many different activities to choose from when assigning work to the students. Using a theme cycle with this book would allow the students to explore and read various genres of text that discusses the amendments.