Fault Lines in the Constitution:Guest post from Cynthia Levinson:
The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today
by Cynthia Levinson and Sanford Levinson
Peachtree, 2017
Amazon / public library
ages 12-18
*best new book*
This year is the 230th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. What do your children know about this usually revered document? They probably learn that it set up the three branches of our democratic form of government, that it contains "checks and balances,” and that it ensures certain rights, such as freedom of speech. But, do they also learn to analyze the Constitution, to look at the parts that don’t work very well?
Our new book Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today does just that for readers ten and up. As an award-winning writer for young readers, I wanted to bring these issues to today's teens, and I worked with my husband, a renowned legal scholar, to create a compelling and readable book for young readers. We show how the compromises and conflicts that the Framers dealt with in 1787 lead to issues we struggle with today.
For instance, those checks and balances. The need for bills to be approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and then overcome a possible presidential veto can make it hard—sometimes impossible—for Congress to pass laws the country needs. Furthermore, because every state, regardless of its size, elects two senators, less than half the US population these days holds 80 percent of the seats in the Senate while a little more than half are represented by only 20 senators. We even show how this imbalance leads to the excess of corn syrup in the food we buy! In addition, we explain in accessible language how we ended up with the Electoral College and tussles over voting rights.
We don’t leave readers completely discouraged, though. Fault Lines gives examples of how state constitutions and those in other countries do things differently, often better, and how we can do so, too. In the end, we give our Constitution a grade, based on the stirring goals laid out the Preamble, and ask students to do the same. To keep the book updated, we post a blog twice a month at www.faultlinesintheconstitution.
Thank you so much, Cynthia! This is indeed a terrific book for teens. You present a compelling case for examining the strengths and weaknesses of the Constitution, engaging readers in this debate with persuasive examples. I particularly appreciate the layout and design. Read the introduction here in this excerpt. The Fault Lines blog is a terrific resource -- just look at these recent posts:
- Everybody Counts -- More or Less
- A Less Than Perfect Union
- A Covenant With Death: How the Constitution Did Not "Establish Justice" or Secure Liberty"
- National Constitution Center
- Library of Congress: Documents from the Constitutional Convention
- The Supreme Court & Free Speech, Constitution Day speech by Dahlia Lithwick @ LOC
©2017 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books
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