Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go from Here 3 Part 1: Getting Started with the U.S. Constitution 5 Chapter 1: Identifying the Main Principles and Controversies of the Constitution 7 Defining "Constitution" 8 Knowing When and Why the Constitution Was Created 8 Summarizing the Main Principles of the Constitution 10 Identifying Some Areas of Controversy 13 Chapter 2: Probing Underlying Concepts: Big Thinkers, Big Thoughts 17 Building on Magna Carta 18 Respecting the Rule of Law (or the Rule of Lawyers?) 20 Analyzing the Concepts Underlying the Declaration of Independence 21 Invoking the law of nature 24 Securing "unalienable Rights" 24 "Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" 26 Establishing a Republic 27 Getting rid of the king 28 Leaving democracy out of the US Constitution 28 Chapter 3: Untangling Some Confusion and Ambiguities 31 Listing Some Sources of Confusion 32 Discarding Out-of-Date Ideas? 33 Clarifying Uncertainties 35 Giving Some Important Principles the Silent Treatment 35 Interpreting the Constitution 38 Changing the Constitution 38 Identifying methods of interpretation 39 Chapter 4: Catching a Bird''s-Eye View of the Constitution 43 Presenting the Preamble: "We the People " 44 Article I: Setting Up the Congress 45 Magnifying the commerce power 45 (Mis)interpreting the "necessary and proper" clause 46 Article II: Hailing the Chief 46 Listing presidential powers and duties 48 Identifying the real issues 48 Article III: Understating Judicial Power 49 Article IV: Getting Along with the Neighbors -- and Uncle Sam 50 Article V: Changing versus Amending the Constitution 51 Article VI: Fudging Federalism 52 Article VII: Ratifying the Constitution 52 Chapter 5: Changing the Constitution by Amendment and Interpretation 53 Noting the Four Paths to an Amendment 54 Explaining What Happens in Practice 55 Listing the Amendments 58 Debating the Need for Judge-Made Law 59 Dissenting views to restricting change 59 Maintaining proper amendment procedure 60 Sampling judge-made amendments 61 Part 2: We The People: How the United States is Governed 65 Chapter 6: Scrutinizing Sovereignty: Who Rules America? 67 Introducing "We the People" 68 Ordaining and establishing a Constitution 68 Resolving to preserve democracy 69 Defining democracy 71 Testing for democracy today 72 Hailing the Chief 73 Congress: Flexing Its Lawmaking Muscle 74 Giving the States Their Due 75 The High Court: Saying What the Law Is 76 Uncovering Conspiracies 77 Chapter 7: Defining Federalism 79 Tracing the Origins of US Federalism 79 Analyzing the founding documents 80 Forming "a more perfect Union" 81 Defining sovereignty 82 Can a state secede from the union? 83 Testing State Sovereignty: Some Recent Supreme Court Decisions 84 Foreign Affairs: Looking at the Influence of Treaties 88 Chapter 8: Separation of Powers: Checking and Balancing 89 No Moonlighting for the President 90 Keeping the Branches Apart 92 Membership 93 Functions 94 Checking and Balancing 97 Keeping each branch in line 97 Considering the judiciary''s special position 99 Pondering the legality of executive orders 101 Examples of executive orders 101 Reviewing administrative regulations 103 Trumping the President 103 Chapter 9: Doing Business: The Commerce Clause 107 How the Commerce Clause Was Born 108 Interpreting the Commerce Clause 108 Hunting Down the Dormant Commerce Clause 109 Looking at double taxation and the Dormant Commerce Clause 109 Passing judgment 110 Tracing the Changing Meaning of the Commerce Clause 111 Protecting freedom of contract 112 Introducing the Four Horsemen and the Three Musketeers 112 Signaling the feds'' control of the economy 113 Using the Commerce Clause to advance civil rights 114 Turning back the federal tide? 115 "Appropriating state police powers under the guise of regulating commerce" 115 Taking a step backward 115 Missing an opportunity? 116 Part 3: Assessing the Three Engines of Government: The President, Congress, and the Judiciary 117 Chapter 10: Examining the Role of the President 119 Being "eligible to the Office of President" 119 Interpreting "natural born Citizen" 120 Looking at the two-term rule 122 Picking a President 123 Examining the modern electoral system 124 Exploding some myths about the Electoral College 125 Canning the President 128 Signing, Vetoing, and Pocketing Legislation 129 Appointing Key Positions 130 Hailing the Chief: The President''s Administration 131 Uncovering the secrets of Cabinet secretaries 132 Unmasking the imperial presidency 133 Unlocking the Executive Office of the President 134 Selling the President''s legislative program 135 Battling Executive Privilege 137 Making War versus Declaring War 138 Controlling the President through the War Powers Act of 1973 140 Preventing presidential precedents? 141 Chapter 11: Giving Everyone a Voice: The House of Representatives and the Senate 143 Making the Laws That Govern the Land 144 One function, two houses 144 Keeping the President in the loop 145 Visiting the People''s House 146 Representing the US population 146 Respecting the power of the Speaker 146 Controlling the nation''s purse strings 151 Deciding disputed presidential elections 152 Impeaching the President and other civil officers 153 Declaring war 153 Getting to Know the Senate 154 Electing a senator 155 Presiding over the Senate 156 Advising and consenting 157 Passing Legislation 157 Tracking a bill''s progress 158 Examining congressional committees 160 Chapter 12: "Saying What the Law Is": The Judicial System 163 Examining the Courts'' Function 164 Defining jurisdiction 164 Applying the law 165 Appointments and Elections: Becoming a Judge 165 Judging the election process 166 Considering whether elections taint the judiciary 167 Understanding Judicial Independence without Accountability 168 Bypassing term limits and salary concerns 169 Grappling with issues the Constitution doesn''t address 170 Making the Judiciary Paramount: Judicial Review 171 Understanding the nature of judicial review 172 Tracing the origins of judicial review 173 Noting Jefferson''s response to Marbury v Madison 174 Considering alternatives for solving constitutional conflicts 174 Watching the Supreme Court''s power seep into politics 175 Casting the Swing Vote 176 Labeling Supreme Court Justices 178 Stare decisis/free exercise of power 178 Judicial activism/judicial restraint 179 Chapter 13: You''re Fired! Investigating the Impeachment Process 181 There''s Nothing Peachy about Impeachment 182 "High Crimes and Misdemeanors": What Impeachment Is and Isn''t 182 Defining impeachment 183 Can you be impeached for something that isn''t a crime at all? 183 Explaining the Impeachment Process 185 Playing grand jury and prosecutor: The role of the House 185 Trying the articles of impeachment: The role of the Senate 186 Understanding the Implications of Impeachment 187 Impeaching isn''t the same as convicting 187 Keeping Congress out of the fray 187 Impeaching for poor private conduct 188 Ducking impeachment with a pardon? 189 Tracking Impeachment in Action 190 A look at Johnson, Nixon, and Clinton 190 Judging the judges 192 Removing State Officials from Office 192 Impeaching governors 193 Total recall, or terminating a governor 193 Part 4: Guaranteeing Important Rights: The Bill of Rights 195 Chapter 14: The First Amendment: Freedom of Religion, Speech, and Assembly 197 Considering the Amendment''s Wording 198 Prohibiting Congress from taking away rights 198 Applying the amendment to the states 198 Separating Church and State 199 Assuring the Free Exercise of Religion 201 Looking at belief and practice 201 Adopting a strict scrutiny test 202 Guaranteeing Freedom of Expression 203 Denying protection to speech creating a "clear and present danger" 204 Allowing obscenity to be seen? 205 Using and abusing the right to freedom of the press 206 Letting money talk 207 Leaking Classified Information 208 Having Your Cake 209 Protecting the Right to Assemble and Petition 209 Chapter 15: The Second Amendment: Bearing Arms 211 Debating Interpretation: Individual versus State Rights 212 Breaking Down the Amendment''s Clauses 213 Understanding the states'' rights interpretation 214 Explaining "the right of the people" 216 Upholding Individual Rig.