In Defense of Liberty: The Story of America's Bill of Rights

by Russell Freedman

Book Overview

When the Delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution, they knew it was not perfect. They were concerned their government might be too powerful and not respect the rights of its... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0823415856
• ISBN13: 9780823415854
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Holiday House
• Length: 196 Pages
• Weight: 2.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.4" x 10.2"
• Age Range: 10 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 7

Customer Reviews

A Remarkable Explanation of the Amendments

In Defense of Liberty is a book I began reading with almost no expectation that it would be interesting. I thought it would be filled with thousands of blatant facts, ones that would be hard to understand and even harder to remember. I was wrong. The book was introduced with a dramatic narrative, followed by the true story behind the Bill of Rights. With case examples behind every amendment, the struggle to understand was not a hard one. Although many facts were introduced, this was not done in an overwhelming manner, and most were directly related to the case being described. My personal favorite part of this book was when a case involving two young Jehovah Witnesses was used to show the development of freedom of religion. The simple act of not saluting the American flag was tried and often punished. Throughout the book the progress made as a result of the amendments was described, in a way similar to a timeline. My least favorite part occurred when James Madisons' most valuable amendment that was not added to the Bill of Rights was cross examined. Although this part was necessary, I thought it could have been done in a more interesting way. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in our nations' government and history. With whole chapters on each amendment, as well as how they came about, this book gives a full explanation of the Bill of Rights. I feel this book probably has the answers to many commonly sought after questions concerning our nation and its government. I think that everyone interested in Americas' laws and policies should read In Defense of Liberty, it is a book that should not go unnoticed.

An outstanding discussion of the Bill of Rights

In my opinion, every public library should have two copies of this book - one for the children/young adult section (its primary audience) and another for the adult nonfiction section. In Defense of Liberty: The Story of America's Bill of Rights is as straightforward and educational as any book I've seen on the subject, and anyone who was born an American, sought and won American citizenship, or is just thinking about becoming an American would do well to read this book. America's enemies could also learn a lot from this book, as it clearly shows the unprecedented liberties upon which this nation was founded and still abides. After an introductory chapter or two setting the stage for the birth of the Constitution and the passionate demands for a Bill of Rights to protect the freedoms of every single American, Russell Freedman launches into a cogent discussion of each of the first ten amendments to the Constitution. He refers back to English law as far back as the signing of the Magna Carta (1215) and the English Bill of Rights (1689) for the precedents and origins of the liberties espoused by the Founding Fathers. "We the people" were not asking for concessions and liberties from the new central government; they were codifying the primacy of these individual freedoms and drawing a clear line in the sand over which the new government would not be allowed to cross. The author points out that the freedoms espoused in the Bill of Rights were not enjoyed by every American for many years to come, but he shows how the document was flexible enough to serve an ever-changing nation over the course of time. It is easy to take for granted the Bill of Rights today, but this truly was the cornerstone of a government the likes of which the world had never seen. Freedman's discussion of each individual amendment is broad and impressive. Not only does he explain the origins of each amendment, he offers examples of challenges to the laws, most often by ordinary citizens, and the historical judgments delivered by the Supreme Court in response. In many cases, the Court reversed decisions it had made in earlier times, and Freedman uses this evolution of policy and judicial determination to show how the principles of the Bill of Rights have been shorn up and strengthened over time. He also refers to hot button questions of the present time, showing that the Bill of Rights is just as relevant now as it ever was. Through the examples of history and the illuminating examples of modern challenges and interpretations of the laws, Freedman makes this aged, weathered document bristle with the life and energy that is required for the nation to remain true to the principles upon which it was founded. I daresay you will get a much better understanding of the Bill of Rights by reading this book than you ever will from reading a history textbook. In Defense of Liberty is written by only one person, but surely it is written for the people. I should also mention the f

Book for Classrooms

This award winning book gives a brief history of the formulation of the U.S. Bill of Rights. It illuminates the beginnings and flow of Constitutional history in a way that readers can understand the process. I would use this book in the classroom because it would allow the students to learn about the history of the Bill of Rights and how it is a part of the Constitution. The students always learn about how the Bill of Rights and the Constitution apply to their lives today, but not many know the history behind each of them. Teacher can use this book to begin a unit on this topic. I think this book would be good to use as an introduction to a theme cycle. This book could be the first one of several that is read throughout the unit.

Richie's Picks: IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY

On April 23, 2003, William Baue reported in SocialFunds.com: IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY: THE STORY OF AMERICA'S BILL OF RIGHTS is first a brief history of the formulation of the US Bill of Rights. It is also a look at how the black-robed trustees of the "462 words written two centuries ago" which "promise the basic civil liberties that all Americans enjoy as their birthright" have not always kept that promise for all Americans, and it examines how these words are interpreted and reinterpreted as the group of individuals serving on the Supreme Court change, as society, technology, and other factors change, and as new circumstances and new laws come into play. Interpretation of new laws in relationship to the Constitution is called judicial review. When it comes to the Bill of Rights, judicial review constantly reveals those 462 words to be a living, enduring organism that is relevant today, no matter what day today is. It causes many of us to be forever amazed by the genius of the Founding Fathers in gathering these words/ideas/ideals (particularly when they and their progeny were such jerks in keeping those sacred rights to themselves and their white male moneyed Protestant slave-owning counterparts for so damned long). For such a book to have some lasting value to a reader and to a library collection, it must illuminate the beginnings and flow of Constitutional history in such a way that readers can understand the process and utilize that understanding as a stepping stone for future exploration as the Bill of Rights continues evolving through new justices and new Court cases. Russell Freedman's book does just that. It shows how times change and decisions change. It provides juicy, sometimes gross examples of behavior that resulted in the promulgation of the English Common Law, the English Bill of Rights and how those rights and American colonial-period behaviors all contributed to these first ten Amendments to the US Constitution. Freedman presents many historic decisions--later "corrected" by more-recent Justices--that (hopefully) all of us would agree in retrospect were unfair. Some early examples are a result of a Supreme Court ruling in the early 1800s that the Bill of Rights applied only to the national government. Thus (besides the slaves, the Native Americans, and the boorish treatment of women) you had other situations I wasn't aware of such as: "In New Jersey, non-Protestants weren't granted full civil rights until 1844. In New Hampshire, Catholics couldn't vote until 1851." But the vast proportion of the information and cases that Russell Freedman presents involve issues that are relevant and vital to today's teens. Discussion of Japanese Internment is followed by a look at the treatment and roundups of Muslim and Arab men in America following September 11th. Freedman explores many other hot-button issues such as reproductive freedom, high-tech snooping, random drug testing, the Internet, and the Death Penalty. I found his presentation of t