The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
You would really think that a graphic novel walk through the Constitution of the United States would be hard to do, and probably boring. But Hennessey and McConnell have an incredible way of turning those topics that probably put you to sleep in US History (or a deep coma in US Gov't) and make them interesting, memorable and not insomnia inducing. This book walks readers through the history of the development of the US Constitution from conception to ratification (and all the bumps along the way). Then it breaks down the document Article by Article, explaining the importance of each section to US citizens of the past and present and landmark cases relating to them. Then the need for the Bill of Rights is discussed, followed by explorations of each right, along with amendments made and their impact both historically and currently. Hennessey does an incredible job of breaking things down in a way that is easy to understand, while not minimizing the debates surrounding the trickiness of interpreting certain sections.If you teach US History or US Government, this is an incredible resource and your students will thank you for using this instead of a normal textbook.US History students, if your teacher didn't take the advice above and you're completely lost in class, this could just save your grade and help you make sense of things a little better.Notes on content: No swearing that I remember. No sexual content. Some violent crimes and battles in wars are depicted, but the art style tends to minimize the gore so these are not graphic. Informative and comprehensive outline of the United States Constitution. This graphic work guides readers point by point through the founding document of our federal government in way that provides historical background and relevant real world examples.That said, there is awful lot of to digest. The book contains an overwhelming amount of visual metaphors. Some, such as the depiction the federal government as eagle and the states as their respective state birds, are memorable and woven throughout the book. This would work very well in pieces injunction with any high school government, legal issues, civics or history class. The authors also point out some common misconceptions of rights protected by the Constitution and provide a fair and balanced review of around controversial subjects such as the 2nd amendment. The language is also not diluted or esoteric in any way.The authors are not afraid to play with genre, which is fun. For example once section contains a short noir fantasy to imagine what a country without such Constitution protections would look like. McConnell’s artwork uses muted watercolors that gives the book a almost dark tone.
What do You think about The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation (2008)?
It is a great way to teach a lot about the amendments and such, but the pages break to easily.
—iloveu
This is a really cool book! Not only is it about the U.S Constitution, it is a comic book!
—amber
A great tool to teach the Constitution in classrooms.
—Sophia
quick read. high-level review. slight liberal bias.
—Kristen
My social studies teacher and I LOVE this book.
—cab51
