The Bill of Rights in Modern America

As the 2020s began, protestors filled the streets, politicians clashed over how to respond to a global pandemic, and new scrutiny was placed on what rights US citizens should be afforded.

Newly revised and expanded to address immigration, gay rights, privacy rights, affirmative action, and more, The Bill of Rights in Modern America provides clear insights into the issues currently shaping the United States. Essays explore the law and history behind contentious debates over such topics as gun rights, limits on the powers of law enforcement, the death penalty, abortion, and states' rights.

Accessible and easy to read, the discerning research offered in The Bill of Rights in Modern America will help inform critical discussions for years to come.

David J. Bodenhamer is Professor of History and Informatics and Executive Director of the Polis Center at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. Among his most recent books on American constitutional history are The Revolutionary Constitution and The U.S. Constitution: A Very Short Introduction.James W. Ely Jr. is Milton R. Underwood Professor of Law and Professor of History Emeritus at Vanderbilt University. He is author or editor of numerous works in constitutional and legal history, including The Guardian of Every Other Right: A Constitutional History of Property Rights, 3rd ed., and The Contract Clause: A Constitutional History.