How to Read the Constitution—and Why

An insightful, urgent, and perennially relevant handbook that lays out in common sense language how the United States Constitution works, and how its protections are eroding before our eyesessential reading for anyone who wants to understand and parse the constantly breaking news about the backbone of American government.

The Constitution is the most significant document in America. But do you fully understand what this valuable document means to you? In How to Read the Constitution and Why, legal expert and educator Kimberly Wehle spells out in clear, simple, and common sense terms what is in the Constitution, and most importantly, what it means. In compelling terms, she describes how the Constitution's protections are erodingnot only in express terms but by virtue of the many legal and social norms that no longer shore up its legitimacyand why every American needs to heed to this "red flag" moment in our democracy.

This invaluableand...