The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction By Professor Akhil Reed Amar, Akhill Reed Amar, Yale University Press ISBN: 9780300082777 Published: 2000 Number of Pages: 432 Binding: Paperback

Pricing & Availability: Additional Details: Product Type: Book Publisher: Yale University Press Description: "The Bill of Rights stands as the high temple of our constitutional order--America's Parthenon--and yet we lack a clear view of it," Akhil Reed Amar writes in his introduction to The Bill of Rights. "Instead of being studied holistically, the Bill has been broken up ... with each segment examined in isolation." With The Bill of Rights, Amar aims to put the pieces back together and take a longer view of a document few Americans truly understand. Part history of the Bill, part analysis of what the Founding Fathers' intentions really were, this book provides a unique interpretation of the Constitution. It is Amar's hypothesis that, contrary to popular belief, the Bill of Rights was not originally constructed to protect the minority against the majority, but rather to empower popular majorities. It wasn't until 19th-century post-Civil War reconstruction and the introduction of the 14th Amendment that the notion of individual rights took hold. Prior to that, the various amendments to the Constitution that make up the Bill of Rights were more about the structure of government and designed to protect citizens against a self-interested regime. Yet so great has been the impact of the 14th Amendment on modern legal thought that the Bill's original intentions have almost been forgotten. Through skillful interpretation and solid research, Amar both reconstructs the original thinking of the Founding Fathers and chronicles the radical changes that have occurred since the inclusion of the 14th Amendment in the Bill of Rights. The results make for provocative reading no matter where you stand on the political spectrum.

Fixed-Length Data Elements - Additional Material Characteristics: m u

Library of Congress Control Number
   - Canceled/invalid LC control number: 97038370

International Standard Book Number: 0585353573 (electronic bk.) :
   - Terms of availability: $40.00
   - Canceled/invalid ISBN: 0300073798 (cloth : alk. paper)
   - Canceled/invalid ISBN: 0300082770 (pbk.)

Geographic Area Code: n-us---

Library of Congress Call Number
   - Classification number: KF4750
   - Item number: .A436 1998eb

Main Entry - Personal Name
   - Personal name: Amar, Akhil Reed

Title Statement
   - Title: The Bill of Rights
   - Remainder of title: creation and reconstruction /
   - Statement of responsibility, etc.: Akhil Reed Amar
   - Medium: [electronic resource] :

Publication, Distribution, etc. (Imprint)
   - Place of publication, distribution, etc.: New Haven :
   - Name of publisher, distribution, etc.: Yale University Press,
   - Date of publication, distribution, etc.: c1998

Physical Description
   - Extent: xv, 412 p. :
   - Other physical details: ill. ;
   - Dimensions: 25 cm

Bibliography, etc. Note
   - Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references (p. 313-396) and index

Reproduction Note
   - Type of reproduction: Electronic reproduction.
   - Place of reproduction: Boulder, Colo. :
   - Agency responsible for reproduction: NetLibrary,
   - Date of reproduction: 2001.
   - Note about reproduction: Access may be limited to NetLibrary affiliated libraries
   - Note about reproduction: Available via World Wide Web.

Subject Added Entry - Corporate Name
   - Corporate name or jurisdiction name as entry element: United States.
   - Number of part/section/meeting: 1st-10th Amendments
   - Title of a work: Constitution.

Subject Added Entry - Topical Term
   - Topical term or geographic name entry element: Civil rights
   - Topical term or geographic name entry element: Constitutional amendments
   - Geographic subdivision: United States

Index Term - Genre/Form
   - Source of term: local
   - Genre/form data or focus term: Electronic books.

Added Entry - Corporate Name
   - Corporate name or jurisdiction name as entry element: NetLibrary, Inc

Additional Physical Form Entry
   - Qualifying information: Original
   - Record control number: (DLC) 97038370
   - Record control number: (OCoLC)37694898