Review
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Title: How to Read the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence
Author: Paul B. Skousen
Publisher: Izzard Ink Publishing Company
Genre: History, United States
Year Published: 2016
Number of Pages: 190
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-5348-5375-1
Price: $17.99
Reviewed by Catherine C. Peterson for the Association for Mormon Letters
Our nation’s forefathers, faced with a tyrannical king, declared independence from him and set forth the principles of freedom and ways to protect them in our Constitution. *How to Read the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence* by Paul B. Skousen makes our nation’s founding documents easier to read and remember. He writes, “Learning to better understand these two documents will recast them from antiquated reflections of an earlier time into brilliant guideposts that point the way through the highs and the lows, the successes and losses, the prosperity and challenges of managing the most amazing freedom formula ever invented.” After reading this book, and doing the suggested activities, I have a better understanding of the purpose, structure and duties of our free republic. I think it would be a valuable tool for citizens who want to save our freedoms, learn and/or memorize our basic laws, and be literate and cognizant of the destructive assaults against our American way of life.
Skousen simplifies and explains the Declaration and Constitution in a way that can be understood even by elementary school children. He includes self-tests to guide learning. He uses clever memory tricks to aid memorization. My favorite was using my index finger, representing the number one to correlate to Amendment One. Using the your pointer finger you can learn the five rights associated with the 1st Amendment. First, point up to heaven for freedom of religion. Second, put your finger to your lips for the freedom of speech. Third, press your finger on something hard for the freedom of the press. Fourth, beckon “come here” with your finger for the freedom of assembly. And finally, fifth, write in the air with your finger to represent the freedom to petition.
As I listen to the screech and squawk of the daily news I often hear the word “rights” interjected by people proclaiming their rights have been violated. To add force to their assertions they may lay claim to their constitutional rights. Do we all have a “right” to an education, to free medical care, to a free cellphone, to smoke marijuana? Although the Constitution neither clearly answer each of these questions nor argues the virtue or detriment of each, it forms an umbrella of principles and laws under which we Americans can seek life, liberty and pursue happiness, while allowing “we, the people” to figure out how to do it.
Skousen posits that the Constitution has gone through some changes which can be categorized into three versions: 1) The Articles of Confederation which needed improvement (1777-1787), 2) the finely honed second version (1787-1913) and
3) the modern version (1913-present) where the separation of powers has been confused and amalgamated. Skousen decries the 3rd version of the Constitution, under which we are presently living, as reversing the very principles that were set forth as protections against tyranny. Examples include executive branch overreach, the failure of Congress to do its duties and the judicial assumption of the role of Congress by legislating from the bench. Ignorance of the Constitution keeps us from protecting it and allows its enemies to warp it to their ends.
If we are ignorant of the standards of our nation, how can we uphold them? This book can arm the reader with understanding and patriotic vigilance to protect our nation and allow it to continue to stand as a beacon to the world. I recommend this book to any and all who are patriotic and freedom loving. It is one tool that can help us defend our homes, our families, our beliefs, and our ability to live safely, securely and happily.
What are Paul Skousen’s qualifications? Does he bring in insights from legal and historical scholarship? I ask because this sounds like a continuation of the kind of dubious pseudo-history that W. Cleon Skousen was so active in promulgating.
At the very least, this review should acknowledge that this book is essentially self-published and represents a view very much at odds with accepted scholarship in the field, from what I can see.
Hey Jonathan,
The reason why the review did not say it was self-published is because it is NOT. We, the author and publisher, went to extensive efforts to make sure this is every bit as good as something offered by major publisher such as Penguin/Random House or Pearson Publishing. On the copyright page you will note the designer. Do some research and you will find she has designed multiple #1 NYT Best-Selling books. She also designed Ben Carson’s One Nation. The editor worked for text book giant Pearson Education for 15 years and edited many books on the subject. The audiobook was read by Mark Deakins, voice of Porsche, and the latest John Grisham novel and The Maze Runner series. That group of talent is not amateur or self-published. I do not appreciate you calling my publishing company “essentially self-published.”
As for “accepted scholarship” the book was well received by the Superintendent of Instruction for the States of Arizona. The Constitution Party of Utah and Arizona have both endorsed the book and the National Constitution Party has purchased multiple copies. National talk show host and actress Sam Sorbo said “it is a fascinating book that she would have to endorse.” We also have received multiple accolades from private/charter schools.
I am sure thankful for the constitution and the freedom we have to write and read reviews like yours. We are all entitles to our opinions just get your facts straight.
I appreciate your clarification. I actually went to your website before posting my comment, and literally everything I was able to find about the services you offered was in the context of self-publishing. I did not see anything about submitting manuscripts, editorial selection and review, etc. I suggest that if you don’t want your books to be taken for being self-published, you clarify this on your website.
With respect to the issue of credibility, the key question is who paid for the work. Did the author pay you to publish the manuscript, or did your company take on the responsibility and sole financial risk of publication and all related expenses in the hope of gaining the costs back from sales? If the former is the case, then it is at least vanity publishing, if not self-publishing. For review purposes, the important point is whether or not a publishing company is in this sense “responsible” for the book. If not, that is something that is worth pointing out. The book may still be worthwhile, but it must stand wholly on its own merits; it does not gain the added external credibility that comes from a publishing company’s willingness to put its own money on the line to produce the work.
What I mean by “accepted scholarship” is the opinion of published, university-affiliated scholars with formal training in legal history. Nothing you have said speaks to the reaction of such scholars to this volume. The very nature of the endorsements you do mention support the inference that this represents a minority viewpoint from a group well outside the academic mainstream in this area, and one with a very specific political axe to grind.
Note that I’m not saying being “outside the mainstream” disqualifies a book from being good, or interesting. But I do think it is an obligation of the reviewer to describe where a book falls in relation to the larger field. If this book presents a viewpoint that is outside the mainstream published scholarship in the field, that should be clearly stated by the reviewer.