World Squirms as Americans Stretch and Strain U.S. Constitution in New Era

A new government in Washington, D.C. jumped quickly into a host of issues that will test the US Constitution, at a time when fewer and fewer Americans actually know what it says and means.

Washington, United States – February 6, 2017 /PressCable/ —

An alarming number of Americans remain in the dark about the simplest concepts and rights afforded them under the U.S. Constitution, following a 2016 campaign that offered competing views of what the U.S. Constitution says.

U.S. News and World Report’s recent analysis: “A Constitutional Reality Check” reveals a remarkable chasm between what the U.S. founding document says and means – and what many Americans believe it says and means.

Eric Schnurer, a lawyer who works with the National Constitution Center, said he “found that virtually all Americans think they know exactly what’s in our nation’s founding charter. And – surprise! – everyone thinks it agrees completely with their own prejudices, views and assumptions.”

Schnurer explained, “The 55 members of the constitutional convention, just like today … wildly disagreed.”

Constitution Amendments, he said, have often radically changed the meaning of the original document. “For all intents and purposes, the post-Civil War 14th Amendment represents a new Constitution, fundamentally altering the balance of power between the states and the federal government.”

Into the breach of Americans who no longer know what is in the Constitution, comes Cathy Travis, author of “Constitution Translated for Kids,” the award-winning book that lays out the entire Constitution on one side of the page, beside a 5th grade version of what the text says.

“On the one hand, it’s mortifying that so many Americans do not know what the Constitution says,” Travis noted. “But there is also a great awareness about the importance of the Constitution – and in that, an opportunity for kids and families.”

The respected Annenberg Public Policy Center found in the fall of 2016:

* Nearly a third of Americans cannot name any of the three branches of government.

* 39 percent incorrectly said that the Constitution gives the president the power to declare war. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war.

* 77 percent know that the Constitution says that Congress cannot establish an official religion.

* 40 percent favored the idea that Congress could forbid the news media from “reporting on any issue of national security without first getting government approval.” The First Amendment prohibits the making of any law “infringing on the freedom of the press.”

“In today’s mix of fact-based news and fake news made to manipulate, teachers have said this book is the most important source of everything the Constitution says – alongside a simple explanation of what that says and means,” Travis said.

“The Constitution is our only national birthright, so all Americans need some knowledge of our founding document,” said Travis, a former Capitol Hill communications director and strategist. “Democracy depends on a well-informed electorate.”

“Even if someone thinks the translation is not right, ‘Constitution Translated for Kids,’ has the exact language of the Constitution right there in front of them so they can decide for themselves.”

Contact Info:
Name: Cecilia Garcia
Organization: We the Books
Address: Washington DC, United States
Phone: +1-202-546-7126

For more information, please visit http://www.travisbooks.com/

Source: PressCable

Release ID: 167173