Publications designed to inform and engage on the topic of First Amendment Freedoms
The Bill of Rights: The First Ten Amendments, by David Hudson, Professor, Belmont University College of Law
This slim volume provides a succinct and incisive overview of how this central document in American history came about, and how it protects our basic freedoms.
Students, teachers and ordinary citizens will find a readable, interesting and well-researched exploration of the Bill of Rights – and what our lives would be like without it.
Price: $8.00 Video interview with the author
Prayer in American Public Life: An Encyclopedia, by John Vile, Constitutional scholar and dean of the Honors College and Middle Tennessee State University
In highly readable fashion, Vile explores the role that prayer has played in American public life since our nation’s founding, chronicling key moments, people, court cases, ideas and historical events.
Price: $39.95 Video interview with the author
Learning About Liberty: Facilitating First Amendment Engagement Among American University Students, by Brian Hinote, associate vice provost for data analytics and student success at Middle Tennessee State University
This report explores how faculty members and universities can help students – often with a minimal understanding of the First Amendment and its role in democracy – engage with these fundamental freedoms.
Price: Free, available as a download. Video interview with the author
Uncovering the Police, by Jack McElroy, retired editor, The Knoxville News Sentinel, for the The John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies
As the digital age matures, technology that makes government information widely available is triggering a backlash in access to police records. Concerns about victim privacy, officer safety and even the reputations of those arrested have led to a series of decisions and movements to shield information that was once readily available and reported by local news outlets. These trends raise important questions about the ability of the press to independently report on crime and law enforcement activities in their communities.
Free, available as a download. Video interview with the author