The US Constitution and American Constitutionalism

elective courses

This course attempts to help the student understand the meaning of the text of the US Constitution and how that meaning arises from both the sources that underscored its creation and the ways men have interpreted it. Especially important is to understand the various sources upon which the American Constitutional tradition emanates and how those sources give texture and individuality to that tradition. Also this course looks at the amendments to the Constitution and how (it at all) they have altered its structure and character.

This course attempts to help the student understand the meaning of the text of the US Constitution and how that meaning arises from both the sources that underscored its creation and the ways men have interpreted it. Especially important is to understand the various sources upon which the American Constitutional tradition emanates and how those sources give texture and individuality to that tradition. Also this course looks at the amendments to the Constitution and how (it at all) they have altered its structure and character.

1. Introduction

2. The English Heritage and the Colonial Experience

3. The Revolution, Independence and the Articles of Confederation

4. The Constitutional Convention and the Ratification Debates

5. The Constitution of 1787: The Preamble

6. The Constitution of 1787: Articles 2 & 3

7. The Constitution of 1787: Articles 4, 5, 6 & 7 of the

8. The Bill of Rights

9. The Jeffersonian Amendments

10. The Civil War Crisis

11. The Progressive Period

12. The Crisis of the Great Depression and World War II

13. The 50s and 60s

14. The current situation of American Constitutionalism

The Constitution of 1787. See Spalding & Forte, pgs 29-48. Or Attached pdf from Government Publishing Office edition.

The Founders’ Constitutions (University of Chicago Press/Liberty Fund) 5 volumes. http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/tocs/toc.html

Spalding, Matthew, and David F. Forte, eds. The Heritage Guide to The Constitution. (Regnery Publishing, 2014).

•Ability to communicate orally in English using the appropriate terminology about the US Constitution and its role in shaping US Policy and Law. [SKILLS AND COMPETENCES]

•An understanding the intellectual and philosophic thought that underlay the establishment of the American Constitution of 1787.[KNOWLEDGE]

•Understanding the nature of the fundamental ideas and concepts that frame the American Constitutional system and be able to explain it to non-specialists, especially in relation to specific institutions. [KNOWLEDGE , SKILLS, AND COMPETENCES]

•Examining the interconnection of concepts/ideas and political action. [KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND COMPETENCES]

•Learning to interconnect Constitutional legal framework and the political institution that shape American politics. [KNOWLEDGE]

Two Take-Home Essay Tests (each Take-Home Essay Test is worth 40% of the course grade total).

10 Weekly Tasks (quizes) (all together is worth 20% of the course grade total).

(0 to 6 scale) excellent, >5.6, Very good 5.0 to 5.59, Better than Good, 4.5 to 4.99, Good, 4.0 to 4.49, Satisfactory, 3.5 to 3.99; Sufficient, 3.0-3.49. failure, <3.0