Constitutional Perspectives
History
Constitutional Perspectives
Coda: The Life and Times of the Second Republic
Welcome back to Constitutional Perspectives! Today it is time for the final chapter of Level One. Over the last several installments, I covered the story of slavery and the Constitution. Slavery defined what I call the First Republic, from the adoption of the Constitution in 1789 through the Civil War
Constitutional Perspectives
Civil Rights Since the Civil War
Welcome back to Constitutional Perspectives! Last time, I talked all about how the Civil War transformed the Constitution, and how the Reconstruction Amendments reflected and formalized that transformation. But I left off on an ominous note: This was seen by many at the time as completing the work. Slavery had
Constitutional Perspectives
The Civil War and the Second Founding
Welcome back to Constitutional Perspectives! For the last few lessons, I've been telling the story of slavery and the American Constitution. Last time, our story finally reached the outset of the Civil War in 1861. Today, then, I'll be talking about how the war, and its
Constitutional Perspectives
Slavery, Part III: The Breaking
Hello and welcome back to Constitutional Perspectives! Finally, finally, our story is going to reach the breaking of the Constitution that became the American Civil War of 1861-65. I initially thought that both of the last two lessons would have covered this entire period, but it turns out there'
Constitutional Perspectives
Slavery, Part II: From Necessary Evil to Positive Good
Welcome back to Constitutional Perspectives! Last time, we covered the sordid history of American slavery, up though the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. I talked about all the ways – some pretty apparent, some more subtle – in which the "peculiar institution" of slavery shaped the U.S. Constitution. Today I&
Constitutional Perspectives
Slavery, Part I: The Ugly History
Welcome back to Constitutional Perspectives! We left off last time on an ominous note. There's something missing from my discussion of the Constitution so far, something lurking in the shadows. You can see the same thing, the same shadowy presence, in the Constitution itself. Scattered throughout the document
Constitutional Perspectives
Where Did the Constitution Come From? Part Two: Drafting & Ratification
Welcome back to Constitutional Perspectives! Last time, I began to tell the Constitution's origin story – well, the Level One version of it, anyway. We left off in the mid-1780s, after the Treaty of Paris had ended the War for Independence. But the constitutional order of 1776, as formalized
Level One
Where Does the Constitution Come From? Part One: The Articles of Confederation
Welcome back to Level One of Constitutional Perspectives! Last time, I covered what the Constitution is: the kind of thing it is, the basic function it performs. Next, I want to canvass where it comes from: the history, briefly told, of how the Constitution came to be. In fact it