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Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Part 1: Getting Started with the U.S Constitution 5
Chapter 1: Identifying the Main Principles and Controversies of the Constitution 7
Chapter 2: Probing Underlying Concepts: Big Thinkers, Big Thoughts 17
Chapter 3: Untangling Some Confusion and Ambiguities 31
Chapter 4: Catching a Bird’s-Eye View of the Constitution 43
Chapter 5: Changing the Constitution by Amendment and Interpretation 53
Part 2: We the People: How the United States Is Governed 65
Chapter 6: Scrutinizing Sovereignty: Who Rules America? 67
Chapter 7: Defining Federalism 79
Chapter 8: Separation of Powers: Checking and Balancing 89
Chapter 9: Doing Business: The Commerce Clause 107
Part 3: Assessing the Three Engines of Government: The President, Congress, and the Judiciary 117
Chapter 10: Examining the Role of the President 119
Chapter 11: Giving Everyone a Voice: The House of Representatives and the Senate 143
Chapter 12: “Saying What the Law Is”: The Judicial System 163
Chapter 13: You’re Fired! Investigating the Impeachment Process 181
Part 4: Guaranteeing Important Rights: The Bill of Rights 195
Chapter 14: The First Amendment: Freedom of Religion, Speech, and Assembly 197
Chapter 15: The Second Amendment: Bearing Arms 211
Chapter 16: The Third and Fourth Amendments: Protecting Citizens from Government Forces 223
Chapter 17: Taking the Fifth — and a Bit of the Fourteenth 239
Chapter 18: Regulating Crime and Punishment: The Sixth through Eighth Amendments 257
Chapter 19: Analyzing an “Inkblot” and a “Truism”: The Ninth and Tenth Amendments 275
Part 5: Addressing Liberties and Modifying the Government: More Amendments 287
Chapter 20: States’ Rights, Elections, and Slavery: The Eleventh through Thirteenth Amendments 289
Chapter 21: The Fourteenth Amendment: Ensuring Equal Protection 303
Chapter 22: Starts, Stops, and Clarifications: Amendments since 1870 319
Part 6: The Part of Tens 337
Chapter 23: Ten Landmark Constitutional Cases 339
Chapter 24: Ten Influential Supreme Court Justices 353
Chapter 25: Two Sides of Five Constitutional Conundrums 365
Appendix: Constitution of the United States of America 379
Index 403
