"The Right to Privacy: Rights and Liberties under the Law" measures the impact of what Louis Brandeis called, "The most comprehensive of rights and the most valued by civilized man." As the book shows, an individual's right to privacy is not a written-in-stone concept, but one that emerged from the "shadows" of a number of amendments and court decisions. The book traces that concept to its philosophical and common law roots, then looks at how privacy rights have been interpreted, expanded, and sometimes curtailed throughout the 20th century.

It concludes with a review of privacy rights...

Today's lingering inequalities, particularly the "American dilemma" of racism, runs throughout U.S. history. "Equal Protection" provides readers with a historical overview of the controversies over the issue of equality, an understanding of how government-and, particularly, the courts and Congress-has reacted to these controversies, and the role these issues have played in shaping U.S. society.

This volume follows the push for equal treatment regardless of age, gender, disabilities, economic status, or sexual orientation. It focuses on legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities...

Legal opinions and public attitudes toward property rights have fluctuated over the years, from periods when almost any infringement of these rights was impermissible, to times in which the government was granted much wider latitude. This book examines the history of individual property ownership in the U.S. from the late colonial era to the present, explaining how property rights were established, defended, and sometimes later reinterpreted. Of special interest are rights that have developed over time, such as due process, just compensation for government "takings" of private property,...

In "The Right to Bear Arms: Rights and Liberties under the Law," the first volume in ABC-CLIO's "America's Freedoms" series, political scientist Robert J. Spitzer combats hysteria and rhetoric with simple facts.

He takes no position on whether more or fewer gun control laws are needed or whether guns are good or bad. Instead, he traces the roots of the Second Amendment, analyzes the opinions and intentions of its authors, follows its application and evolution from its beginnings, and explores the views expressed by the courts. He then carefully compares the intended and the implied...

The first boatloads of European settlers did not come to America advocating religious tolerance. They came seeking the freedom to practice their own religion. Other sects, they believed, were wrong at best and, at worst, not to be tolerated.

The question of what constitutes "legitimate," constitutionally protected religious practice has been debated ever since. Does it include the use of peyote? Polygamy? Refusing medical care for a sick child? "Freedom of Religion" follows the evolving understanding of the concept of religious freedom from Great Britain to the New World, through...

The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution created one of the nation's most valued freedoms but, at the same time, one of its most persistent controversies. On 184 separate occasions, the Supreme Court attempted to decide what constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment."

Constitutional scholars Joseph A. Melusky and Judge Keith A. Pesto help readers make sense of the controversy. The authors begin by sketching the context of the debate in a general overview that addresses issues such as excessive bails and fines, and noncapital offenses. But their primary focus is capital punishment....