The United
States
Constitution and
What It Means
Today
Fall, 2016
Seminars
|
Outline
I. Historical
Background
British Colonization
The Formation of a Colonial People
The British Constitution
II. The Writing
and Ratification
of the
Constitution
Colonial Charters and Constitutions
The Rebellion and the Articles of Confederation
The Constitutional
Convention of
1787
A Republic Evolving Toward a Democracy
III. Reading and
Interpreting the
Constitution
How to Read a Text
Originalism versus "A Living Constitution"
The Powers of the Federal Judiciary
IV. Amending the
text of the
Constitution
Article V and Its Subtleties
The Evolving Constitutional Text
What the Text Says and Doesn't Say
V. Separation of
Powers
The Legislative Branch
The Executive Branch
The Judicial Branch and Judicial Review
VI. Federalism
The Theory of Delegated Powers
Articles IX and X of the Bill of Rights
The Genius of Federalism
|
Tribe on the Constitution
The United States Constitution
The United States Constitution Annotated
--from congress.gov
The United States Constitution --from
Wikipedia.com
The Federalist Papers --from the University
of Oklahoma College of Law
The Avalon Project - Major Document Collections
Federalist Number 10
A
Chronoogy of United States Historical Documents
--from the University of Oklahoma College of Law
The Articles of Confederation --from the
Library of Congress
The Articles of Confederation --from the
Avalon Project
The Debates Over Ratification of the
Constitution (Elliot's Debates)
Major Debates of the Constitutional Convention
--from the Constitutional Rights Foundation
Resolution of the Federal Convention Submitting
the Constitution to Congress --September 17,
1787 - From the Avalon Project
Washington's Letter Transmitting the
Constitution to the Congress, September 17, 1787
--from constitutioonamerica.org
Letter Transmitting
the Constitution to the Congress of the Articles
--September 17, 1787 - From the Avalon Project
Resolution of Congress of September 28, 1787,
Submitting the Constitution to the Several
States --from the Avalon Project
Resolution of the Congress of September 13, 1788
--from the Library of Congress
Resolution of the Congress, of September 13,
1788, Fixing Date for Election of a President,
and the Organization of the Government Under the
Constitution, in the City of New York --from
the Avalon Projecct
Ratification Dates and Votes --from
usconstitution.net
Ratification of the Constitution - Amendments
Proposed --from TeachingAmericanHistory.org
Failed Amendments --from usconstitution.net
27th Amendment Or Bust - The Story Behind
the 27th Amendment --from prospect.org
"How a C-grade College Term Paper Led to a
Constitutional Amendment" --from
blog.constitutioncenter.org
Richard Bernstein,
"The Sleeper Wakes: The History and Legacy of
the Twenty-Seventh Amendment" --from Fordham
Law Review
(1992)
George Ticknor Curtis,
History of the Origin, Formation, and Adoption
of the Constitution
of the United States --from Project
Guttenberg --from Project Guttenberg
Akhil Reed Amar,
America's Constitution: A Biography --from
Google Books
The National Constitution Center --Constitutional
news
Thomas Jeffereson on Constitutional
Interpretation --based
on his writings
Theories of Constitutional Interpretation
Doug Linder,
Exploring Constitutional Law
--from the University of Missouri-Kansas City
The Originalist Perspective
--from the Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Guide to the Constitution
Doug Hays, "Scalia
Used Originalism to Cover Activism,"
--from the Las Cruces Sun-News, March 1, 2016
Jedediah Purdy,
"Scalia's Contradictory Originalism"
--from The New Yorker, February 16, 2016
The Constitution (We The People)
--from Constitution.com
The Amendments in History
--from
ConstitutionFacts.com
Presidential Signing Statements
--from the University of San Diego - The
American Presidency Project
Taking aim at U.S. Constitution; Conservative
groups see convention of states as a way to
sidestep Congress
--from the International New York Times,
August 24, 2016
Friend of an Article V
Convention,
Index of Article V Applications, July 24,
2016
American Legislative Exchange Council - Proposal
for a Convention of States
Article V Handbook --from the American
Legislative Exchange Council
Official Proposals of the Simulated Convention
of States - Adopted September 23, 2016 in
Williamsburg, VA
Tiny Url
ALEC Exposed --from alexexposed.org
The
Convention of States - September, 2016 -
Williamsburg, VA --from
conventionofstates.com
Thomas H. Neale,
"The Article V Convention to Propose
Constitutional Amendments: Contemporary Issues
for Congress" --from
the Congressional Research Service, March 29,
2016
Enlarging the Size of the House of
Representatives --from The New York
Times, January 7, 2014
Constitution Day --from constitutionday.com
Cathy McMorris Rodgers,
"Upholding the Promise of America on this
Constitution
Day"
- September 17, 2016 --from the
nationalrevlew.com
Hillary's New
Constitution --from the
Wall Street Journal
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States
--Official website
Landmark Cases --from C-SPAN
The Supreme Court Blog - SCOTUS
Oyez --Oral arguments
before the Supreme Court
Unratified Constitutional Amendments and
Analysis of the Unratified Amendments
Editorial - Baton Rouge Morning Advocate -
October , 2010 and
Response to the Editorial
Justices Bryer and Scalia Debate Constitutional
Interpretation - November 12, 2010
Federal laws Held Unconstitutional
in Whole or in Part by the United States
Supreme Court
--from justia.com
State Laws Held Unconstitutional by the United
States Supreme Court --from
justia.com
Justices of the United States Supreme Court -
Nominations - [from U.S. Senate]
Jill Lepore, "The
Commandments:The Constitution and Its
Worshippers," The New Yorker,
January 17, 2001.
Pauline Maier,
Ratification: The People Debate the
Constitution, 1787-1788 (Simon and
Schuster, 2010 [Available online through chapter
5.]
Wickard v. Filburn (1942) - Explaining Congress'
Power to Regulate Commerce
--Summary
of the Court's Ruling
United States v. Lopez (1995) - Explaining
Limits on Congress' Commerce Power
--Summary
of the Court's Ruling
Citizens United v. FEC (2009) - The Court Rules
in Favor of Corporate Free Speech
--Long
Summary of the Court's Ruling
Constitutional Evolution Today (Well, Yesterday)
- Statutory Interpretation and Constitutional
Developments - PBS Evening News -February 22,
2011
The Obama Administration's
Letter to Congress Declaring that the
Administration
Will Not Defend the Defense of Marriage Act -
February 23, 2011
A Century of Lawmaking for
a New Nation - U.S. Congressional Documents and
Debates, 1774-1875
Nina Totenberg Interview With Ted Olson - NPR -
Audio - December 6, 2010
Discussion of Adam Cohen's book on Buck v. Bell
- NPR - All Things Considered, February 26, 2016
The Supreme Court
--PBS Program (Videos)
"More Perfect: The Imperfect Plaintiffs"
--from Radiolab.org (This deals with Fisher v.
The University of Texas (1915).)
Judge Richard Posner,
"The Academy is Out of Its Depth " --from
slate.com - July 26, 2016
"Posner Apologizes For Saying That the
Constitution is Useless" --July 1, 2016
Eric J. Segall,
"The Constitution Means What the Supreme Court
Says It Mean" --from the Harvard Law Review
Forum, February, 2016
Thomas H. Neale,
"The Electoral College: How It Works in
Contemporary Presidential Elections," --from
the Congressional
Research Service - April 13, 2016
"Americans Divided on How the Spreme Court
Should Interpret the Constitution" --from
the PEW Research Center. July 31, 2014
Akil Reed Amar,
"Turning to the Constitution to Confront the
Issues of Our Time," --from the Dianne Rehm
Show, September 13,
2016
Louis Michael Seidman, "Let's Give Up on the
Constitution" --from the New York Times,
December 30, 2012
Peter Nicholas, "'Nine, Of Course'": A
Dialogue on Congressional Power to Set by
Statute the Number of Justices on the Supreme
Court" --from the NYU Journal of Law and
Liberty (2006)
"Are Members of Congress Becoming
Telemarketers?" --from CBS 60 Minutes, April
24, 2016
[Text only - Video Requires Subscription]
Constitutional Miscellany
50 Years of Elecral College Maps: How the U.S.
Turned Red and Blue --from The New York
Times, August 22, 2016
PDF version
Presidential Elections - from the Scout
Report
Bodoc.net |