Rebels, Robbers, and Radicals: The Story of the Bill of Rights

An excellent resource for teachers and librarians from middle school up, especially as we enter the semiquincentennial year of 2026. (New York Times Book Review)

Meet the rebels, robbers, radicals, determined teenagers, and ordinary Americans who shaped our Constitutional rights.

The first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution—known as the Bill of Rights—include the guarantee that no person may be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Yet this soaring vision of human rights was written by enslavers who deprived others of these rights. The struggle to resolve this paradox continues to the present day.

From Teri Kanefield comes the story of the Bill of Rights, from the founding of America to the first sedition laws, slavery, women’s equality, the Civil War, Prohibition, the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, the Civil Rights movement, gun control, and more.

Using real court cases, Kanefield explains the meaning of each of the first ten amendments. The result is the story of Americans who have tested the limits of their rights or demanded that their rights be recognized.

With full-color illustrations and thought-provoking text, Rebels, Robbers, and Radicals explores how our rights have evolved as the nation grew and changed.