Bill of Rights in American History

Catalog description

This course provides a topical survey of the American Bill of Rights from the colonial era to the present. It begins with the origins of American rights in England and colonial America. An analysis of the need for a Bill of Rights at the founding and Supreme Court interpretations in 1835 and during the Reconstruction era follow. The bulk of the course is concerned with the nationalization and expansion of the Bill of Rights in the twentieth century and its meaning in the everyday lives of American citizens.