The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution

by Linda R. Monk

Overview

An informative look at America's Constitution, updated with rulings on issues such as immigration, gay marriage, gun control, and affirmative action.

In The Words We Live By, Linda R. Monk probes the idea that the Constitution may seem to offer cut-and-dried answers to questions regarding personal rights, but the interpretations of this hallowed document are nearly infinite. For example, in the debate over gun control, does “the right of the people to bear arms” as stated in the Second Amendment pertain to individual citizens or regulated militias? What do scholars say? Should the Internet be regulated and censored, or does this impinge on the freedom of speech as defined in the First Amendment? These and other issues vary depending on the interpretation of the Constitution.

Through entertaining and informative annotations, The Words We Live By offers a new way of looking at the Constitution. Its pages reflect a critical, respectful and appreciative look at one of history's greatest documents. It is filled with a rich and engaging historical perspective along with enough surprises and fascinating facts and illustrations to prove that your Constitution is a living—and entertaining—document.

“Linda Monk takes us on a lively and learned exploration of the document that underlies not only how we Americans govern ourselves but how we make sense of the world. Anyone reading The Words We Live By will finish it with a greater understanding of the Constitution and a new respect for how it has secured freedom and self-government for the last two centuries.” ―Steve Chapman, syndicated columnist, Chicago Tribune

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316381864
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	04/08/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	292
Lexile:	1340L (what's this?)
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

Linda R. Monk, J.D., is a constitutional scholar, journalist, and nationally award-winning author. A graduate of Harvard Law School, she twice received the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award, its highest honor for public education about the law. Her books include The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution, Ordinary Americans: U.S. History Through the Eyes of Everyday People, and The Bill of Rights: A User's Guide. For more than twenty-five years, Ms. Monk has written commentary for newspapers nationwide-including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune, and Huffington Post.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	8
	The Constitution as Conversation	9
Part I	The Constitution of the United States	10
	The Preamble: We the People	11
Article I	The Legislative Branch	18
Article II	The Executive Branch	62
Article III	The Judicial Branch	89
Article IV	Full Faith and Credit	104
Article V	Amendments	112
Article VI	The Supreme Law of the Land	118
Article VII	Ratification	121
Part II	Amendments to the Constitution of the United States	126
Amendment 1	Freedom of Expression	127
Amendment 2	The Right to Bear Arms	151
Amendment 3	Quartering of Troops	154
Amendment 4	Unreasonable Searches and Seizures	157
Amendment 5	Due Process of Law	164
Amendment 6	The Right to a Fair Trial	173
Amendment 7	Trial by Jury in Civil Cases	181
Amendment 8	Cruel and Unusual Punishment	184
Amendment 9	Unenumerated Rights	190
Amendment 10	States' Rights	194
Amendment 11	Lawsuits Against States	199
Amendment 12	Choosing the Executive	201
Amendment 13	Abolishing Slavery	205
Amendment 14	Equal Protection of the Laws	212
Amendment 15	Suffrage for Black Men	229
Amendment 16	Income Taxes	233
Amendment 17	Direct Election of Senators	234
Amendment 18	Prohibition	236
Amendment 19	Women's Suffrage	238
Amendment 20	Lame Ducks	242
Amendment 21	Repealing Prohibition	246
Amendment 22	Presidential Term Limits	249
Amendment 23	Electoral Votes for the District of Columbia	251
Amendment 24	Banning the Poll Tax	253
Amendment 25	Presidential Succession and Disability	255
Amendment 26	Suffrage for Young People	260
Amendment 27	Limiting Congressional Pay Raises	261
	To Decide for Ourselves What Freedom Is	263
	Endnotes	264
	Selected Bibliography	273
	Index	279

Editorial Reviews

"A wonderfully accessible yet deeply insightful guide to our Constitution that should be read and enjoyed by a wide audience of old and young alike."—Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian

"I have never before seen so clear an explanation of what's in the Constitution and why. Monk has provided a service to the nation that should earn her a Presidential Medal of Freedom."—Nat Hentoff, Pulitzer Prize finalist and Senior Fellow, Cato Institute

"A book for 'We the People' of all ages—wonderfully simple but never simplistic, brimming with profound and provocative ideas."—Akhil Reed Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science, Yale University

"Finally, a book that presents all sides of constitutional issues."—Linda Chavez, Chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity and FOX News Channel contributor

"Linda Monk takes us on a lively and learned exploration of the document that underlies not only how we Americans govern ourselves but how we make sense of the world. Anyone reading The Words We Live By will finish it with a greater understanding of the Constitution and a new respect for how it has secured freedom and self-government for the last two centuries."—Steve Chapman, syndicated columnist, Chicago Tribune

"[Linda Monk] captures just the right blend of history and current events to help us understand why the Constitution is America's cornerstone of freedom."—Charles Overby, Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper editor and Chairman of the Overby Center of Southern Journalism and Politics

"When I covered federal courts in Washington at the foot of Capitol Hill, I read The Words We Live By all the time. When I stopped covering the courts, I still read it all the time. Smart, informed, witty—just the way everyone wants to sound when discussing the Constitution."—Neely Tucker, staff writer, Washington Post

"The U.S. Constitution gets a comprehensive overview in this engaging blend of history and commentary. Monk . . . traces the history and consequences of each part of this vital document in a line-by-line analysis of the original seven articles and the 27 amendments. She also gives even-handed but lively accounts of the debates over such Constitutional controversies as the right to bear arms, the right to privacy, church-state separation, and capital punishment."—Citation for Chief of Staff of the Air Force 2012 Reading List

"This volume ought to be required reading for every American young and old."—Governor William Winter, Chairman Emeritus of the Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation

"For a fine guide to the full context of today's Constitution, read The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution by the scholar Linda R. Monk, which labors to provide inclusive context, including materials on "outsiders" to the Constitution such as Native American people."—The Atlantic

From the Publisher