OSHER 920 - Miracle in Philadelphia - The US Constitution

This course will explore the U.S. Constitution. We will begin by exploring its legal and historical context, the political and economic climate of late 18th Century America, English common law, and the Articles of Confederation. We will address the Constitutional Convention of 1787, its participants, debates and compromises, and ask how 55 diverse, often fractious delegates representing 12 of the 13 former English colonies agreed to a document that established a nation. Finally, we will work through the current text of the Constitution and explore the development of Constitutional law through the lens of Supreme Court opinions addressing the application of the Civil War amendments to real world disputes.