We The People

The Bill of Rights defines and defends the freedoms we enjoy as Americans -- from the right to bear arms to the right to a civil jury. Using the dramatic true stories of people whose lives have been deeply affected by such issues as the death penalty and the right to privacy, attorneys Ellen Alderman and Caroline Kennedy reveal how the majestic priciples of the Bill of Rights have taken shape in the lives of ordinary people, as well as the historic and legal significance of each amendment. In doing so, they shed brilliant new light on this visionary document, which remains as vital and as controversial today as it was when a great nation was newly born.

Ellen Alderman is an attorney and author.

Ellen co-authored (along with fellow attorney Caroline Kennedy) two definitive books; “In Our Defense” and “Right to Privacy,” which examine how the structure of our democratic government and our laws affects the lives of American citizens.

About Caroline Kennedy :

Very much in the public eye during her father's presidency and at her father's funeral in 1963, Caroline Kennedy graduated from Radcliffe with a B.A. in 1980, trained at Sotheby's in art, and graduated from Columbia Law School with a J.D. in 1988. She married Edwin Schlossberg in 1986. They have three children.

Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg's 1991 book, In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action, and her 1996 book, The Right to Privacy, were written with Ellen Alderman. She published a collection of some of the favorite poems of her mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, in 2001. In 2002, she published a collection of essays which echoed her father's 1957 Profiles in Courage, and in 2003 a collection of patriotic poems, speeches, and songs.

In 2008, she served as a member of the advisory committee suggesting vice presidential nominees for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

In an early writing assignment, Caroline Kennedy attended Elvis Presley's funeral and wrote about it in Rolling Stone.