Introduction
This book is meant to be a practical approach for those who desire to enact, enforce, and interpret the law.
This book is held to be a less intimidating and non-elitist approach to how one should view and use the freedoms, rights, and privileges in the United States Constitution (hereinafter “Constitution”) and all other relevant sources.
Notice each chapter contains the actual verbiage or words of the Constitution. Please read these words aloud as most of us began interpreting the Constitution before we have actually read the words. We tend to confuse our favorable interpretations with the actual document; however, the document was meant to be used two-fold.
- As a document of unity and a government of checks and balances between the federal and state (originally) and later individual rights.
- As a living document meant to reflect the growing dynamic within our society.
As such, we must read it for what it was and let it develop and morph into what it can be.
Please take the time to read the words of the Constitution in its entirety, located in the Appendix, before relying upon what you have been told each section should mean to you. Additionally, concentrate on the legal definitions of the words in the actual Constitution; it will further your comprehension of the language. Meditate on how this impacts the words, then grapple with what meaning should be attributed to those specific words. You will notice in the Constitution that many of the Articles have sections. Similarly, this text attempts to mirror that structure by including “Parts” for the Amendments. The “Parts” are not included in the actual Constitution, but included in the text as another tool to assist in the reader’s effort to understand the Amendments.
Let’s begin!
