A More Perfect Union [Hardcover]

Jesse Jackson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2001

In this new work, Jackson provides ample documentation and insightful analysis of the inextricable link between race and economics.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After coauthoring the recent Legal Lynching with his father (Forecasts, Aug. 13), Congressman Jackson takes the lead in this book written with his press secretary, laying out his moral and political vision. The first, autobiographical section serves as an introduction to his historical review of how race and states' rights have been intertwined both in theory and practice. Jackson sees "race as the lens through which to see all of American history," but economics and sectional politics are the substance. From colonial times to the present, Jackson stresses both the contradictions within Southern conservative ideology (such as Southern states-righters' insistence on federal fugitive slave laws) and its consistencies across time (small local government, low taxes, economic underdevelopment and opposition to providing broad economic opportunities for all), which have opposed progress toward a more perfect union, hitting blacks the hardest, but hitting an even larger number of poor, working-class and even middle-class whites. The contrasting struggle for broadly shared economic development, political power and personal freedom can best be advanced, Jackson argues, by adopting eight new, benchmark-setting constitutional amendments, guaranteeing rights primarily grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the U.S. has ratified. Each is treated in a separate chapter: the rights to quality health care, housing, education, a clean environment, fair taxes, full employment, equality for women and the right to vote. Though occasionally rough and repetitious, the book's breadth, boldness and candor stirringly challenge conventional political timidity.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 420 pages
• Publisher: Welcome Rain Publishers; First Printing edition (October 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156649186X
• ISBN-13: 978-1566491860
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,084,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Challenge for the 'Hip Hop' Generation, December 15, 2005

By 

S. Gadlin (Stuck between the 13th and 15th Amendments) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A More Perfect Union (Hardcover)

Cong. Jackson's book not only outlines America's flawed and inherently racist political ideology but he sets for a blueprint for action for those born after 1965, the benefactors of the Civil Rights Movement, the authors of the so-called Hip Hop Generation, the people who are caught between fulfilling Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'dream' and rushing to the nearest dealership for the latest in bling bling. This book should be required reading for middle school and high school students as it engages you in a critical thinking exercise about what it means to be "American," what it means to be "free" and further unveils the hidden truths in the U.S. Constitution. We live in hypocrisy rather than a democracy, where millions of Americans lack health care, have access to quality education, employment, housing and a corruption free legal/court system. It is clear that we must rally to modify the 10th amendment which continues to undermine the very foundation of the Constitution by allowing the 50 states to operate as seperate and unequal parcels under the guise of a United States. Why do we have 50 separate public school systems; 50 seperate criminal justice systems; 50 seperate policies on everything from immigration to affirmative action to civil/human rights to voting rights...? And how is it that the federal government is not responsible for any? These are the questions probed and answered in this prolific book. In its pages are a challenge for this generation. Do we want power or status? Do we want justice or a lexus? The struggle continues. Forward ever...backwards never.

10 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seeking a More Perfect Union? Here is Your "How To" Book!, November 13, 2001

By 

I. Clarke "Drawing Ever Nearer" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A More Perfect Union (Hardcover)

When the "founding fathers" wrote the constitution, it brought about great change. Today great change is needed...so what else ought we do but change the constitution? Jackson makes that notion convincingly clear. As i read this book, I kept thinking "I wish I had this book in college." In college, the dynamics of social and political thought were always about programs and policies....it was the bandaid solution. This book lays out the treatment and, most importantly, the diagnosis! Where have we been as a nation? The answer to that question is the real diagnosis....it is the diagnosis no one wants to hear, that Jackson has exposed. But we must acknowledge the diagnosis so we can identify the proper treatment and know how to apply it. How do we heal? The answer to that question is the treatment -- changing the constitution is so fundamental that it is largely ignored by politicos and scholars. Perhaps it is ignored because the constitution has been held as an immovable object. But, as Jackson explains, the constitution can be changed, and any changes (or amendments) become as rock solid as the constitution itself. Jackson has laid out a strategy that has rarely (in part and never in toto) been suggested for our nation -- a new idea -- that fact alone makes this book a MUST HAVE. Jackson has also laid out a strategy that will yield a prognosis for the nation that is desireable to all -- that fact makes this book a MUST DO!

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Reading, November 13, 2001

By 

Miles K. Davis (Ashburn, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A More Perfect Union (Hardcover)

This book is must reading for anyone who desires to understand how politicial idealogy has developed in the US. Additionally, the book offers a clear agenda for moving the United States towards a more perfect union. I predict that we will see the issues raised in this book edvident in the next presidential election.