This course takes a historical look at the people who bring cases before the Supreme Court and the justices who decide what the Constitution means in each dispute. Included are debates over judicial power in the Constitutional Convention of 1787, as well as controversial rulings on slavery, racial segregation, free speech, abortion, workers’ rights, civil rights, and much more.
You will hear actual audio recordings of lawyers arguing before the Court, and you will examine the themes of consensus, continuity, and diversity that have shaped the Court through its history.
Perhaps most fascinating are the accounts of ordinary Americans, such as Dred Scott, whose cases forced justices to confront the Constitution’s promise that every American deserves "the blessing of liberty."