Constitutional essays which formed the basis of public assemblies throughout three states are compiled in this book. The first three essays consider the U.S. government principles of federalism, judicial review, and the separation of powers. Michael L. Benedict proposes that the question of ultimate sovereignty has been answered differently by various groups according to their political needs. Martha I. Morgan, examines the source and extent of the power of the U.S. Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of state and federal acts. Richard H. Cox discusses the principle of the separation of powers. The remaining essays review issues related to the rights of the individual. The fourth essay (L. Carter) discusses separation of church and state. Procedural guarantees and the extension of the protections to the states through Supreme Court interpretation of the 14th Amendment are outlined in essay five (S. Talarico and E. Fairchild). The sixth essay (T. Freyer) traces the development of black voting rights. Essay seven (C. Bullock III) traces the expansion of federal issues based on the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The closing essay (J. Soma and S. Oran) discusses privacy rights as they relate to personal information in an advanced information technology era. (SM)