The United States Constitution: one document, many choices

Abstract

1. Institutional Choices and the Preamble: The Constitution is a Real-world Document, Not a Utopian Blueprint 2. The Legislative Branch: It's a Congress, Not a Parliament 3. The Executive Branch: It's Headed by an Accountable Elected Official, Not a King or a Dictator 4. The Judicial Branch: It's a Group of Lawyers, Not a Bevy of Platonic Guardians 5. The Nation and the States: The Government is Federal, Not Confederal or Unitary 6. The Constitutional Amending Process: It's Difficult Because It Is Designed to Preserve the Constitution as Fundamental Law 7. The Bill of Rights and Freedom of Belief and Expression: They Provide for Liberty, Not License 8. The Bill of Rights, the Right to Security, and the Rights of the Accused and the Convicted: They Preserve the Rights of the Guilty in Order to Protect the Innocent 9. Equality and the Thirteenth through Fifteenth Amendments: It's an Equality of Opportunity, Not a Guarantee of Equal Results 10. Postscript: A Time for Reflection 11. Glossary 12. The Constitution of the United States and Its Amendments