Contains course descriptions and materials.

Synopsis:

This is a course about the founding of American constitutional thought and the evolution of the 1787 document from the colonial period to the present, as reflected in the decisions by the United States Supreme Court. The fundamental concern of this course is how the federal constitution is said to define and structure the powers of government institutions. The course is specifically concerned with the powers of each branch of the federal government as well as the power of federal authority generally in its relationship to states. The course will not concern itself with the Bill of Rights or the Fourteenth Amendment – the subject of civil liberties is reserved for a course titled Constitutional Law II. This course will devote a good deal of its initial content to the story of the founding generation and how the American Constitution came into being, and why. Much of the course material is organized around the medium of history, allowing the story of the constitution to unfold in its proper context. After the developmental context is furnished, however, material is discussed categorically according to the legal doctrines used by the Court to structure its resolution of cases.

Course Lectures:

The lectures for this course can be accessed online. Anyone is free to listen. To hear the lectures, simply use the menu tab titled "web lectures" at seanwilson.org. Or, select select from one of two lists immediately below. The first is a chronological organization; the second is an alphabetical subject index.

Student Feedback:

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