Madison's Music

On Reading the First Amendment

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Law, Civil Rights, Constitutional, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Government, Civics
Cover of the book Madison's Music by Burt Neuborne, The New Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Burt Neuborne ISBN: 9781620970539
Publisher: The New Press Publication: May 10, 2011
Imprint: The New Press Language: English
Author: Burt Neuborne
ISBN: 9781620970539
Publisher: The New Press
Publication: May 10, 2011
Imprint: The New Press
Language: English

“A detailed history of the transformation of First Amendment law” from one of the nation’s foremost civil liberties lawyers (The New York Times).

Are you sitting down? It turns out that everything you learned about the First Amendment is wrong. For too long, we’ve been treating small, isolated snippets of the text as infallible gospel without looking at the masterpiece of the whole. Legal luminary Burt Neuborne argues that the structure of the First Amendment as well as of the entire Bill of Rights was more intentional than most people realize, beginning with the internal freedom of conscience and working outward to freedom of expression and finally freedom of public association. This design, Neuborne argues, was not to protect discrete individual rights—such as the rights of corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections—but to guarantee that the process of democracy continues without disenfranchisement, oppression, or injustice.

Neuborne, who was the legal director of the ACLU and has argued numerous cases before the Supreme Court, invites us to hear the “music” within the form and content of Madison’s carefully formulated text. When we hear Madison’s music, a democratic ideal flowers in front of us, and we can see that the First Amendment gives us the tools to fight for campaign finance reform, the right to vote, equal rights in the military, the right to be full citizens, and the right to prevent corporations from riding roughshod over the weakest among us. Neuborne gives us an eloquent lesson in democracy that informs and inspires.

“In the dark art of lawyering, Neuborne has always been considered a white knight.” —New York

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

“A detailed history of the transformation of First Amendment law” from one of the nation’s foremost civil liberties lawyers (The New York Times).

Are you sitting down? It turns out that everything you learned about the First Amendment is wrong. For too long, we’ve been treating small, isolated snippets of the text as infallible gospel without looking at the masterpiece of the whole. Legal luminary Burt Neuborne argues that the structure of the First Amendment as well as of the entire Bill of Rights was more intentional than most people realize, beginning with the internal freedom of conscience and working outward to freedom of expression and finally freedom of public association. This design, Neuborne argues, was not to protect discrete individual rights—such as the rights of corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections—but to guarantee that the process of democracy continues without disenfranchisement, oppression, or injustice.

Neuborne, who was the legal director of the ACLU and has argued numerous cases before the Supreme Court, invites us to hear the “music” within the form and content of Madison’s carefully formulated text. When we hear Madison’s music, a democratic ideal flowers in front of us, and we can see that the First Amendment gives us the tools to fight for campaign finance reform, the right to vote, equal rights in the military, the right to be full citizens, and the right to prevent corporations from riding roughshod over the weakest among us. Neuborne gives us an eloquent lesson in democracy that informs and inspires.

“In the dark art of lawyering, Neuborne has always been considered a white knight.” —New York

More books from The New Press

Cover of the book Blue Gold by Burt Neuborne
Cover of the book An Army of Phantoms by Burt Neuborne
Cover of the book Running by Burt Neuborne
Cover of the book The Match by Burt Neuborne
Cover of the book Hell Is a Very Small Place by Burt Neuborne
Cover of the book A Buffalo in the House by Burt Neuborne
Cover of the book The Impact of Inequality by Burt Neuborne
Cover of the book Mismeasuring Our Lives by Burt Neuborne
Cover of the book Three By Echenoz by Burt Neuborne
Cover of the book The Radical Reader by Burt Neuborne
Cover of the book Out of Sight by Burt Neuborne
Cover of the book The Lights of Pointe-Noire by Burt Neuborne
Cover of the book Before I Do by Burt Neuborne
Cover of the book A School of Our Own by Burt Neuborne
Cover of the book Kill Khalid by Burt Neuborne
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy