Commentaries on the Constitution LIVE!
Modern constitutional scholars still consider Joseph Story's Commentaries on the Constitution to be one of the most important sources on "originalism." Story wrote his three volume exposition on the Constitution in 1833 while he was still serving as a United States Supreme Court Justice and concurrently as a professor of law at Harvard University. He earned nearly $10,000 a year on royalties from the Commentaries, over double his salary as a Supreme Court Justice.
While Story's Commentaries are the most conspicuous example of this type of work, several important Americans produced similar works, including John Adams, St. George Tucker, John Taylor of Caroline, Abel Upshur and others.
How Americans interpreted the Constitution was a central issue in antebellum America and arguably led to the War in 1861.
This class will explore how various antebellum legal and constitutional scholars viewed both the Constitution and the nature of the Union through their respective published works.
Those who finish the course will receive a certificate of completion, making this class a perfect "professional development" course for history teachers at any level.
Course Outline and Schedule:
Your reading material, discussion threads, and on-demand videos will be made available May 25, 2023.
LIVE sessions will be 1:15 minutes and will be recorded for follow up or if you miss the session. Students will be able to ask questions and interact with Dr. McClanahan via both audio and video.
All material must be accessed by July 9, 2023. Certificates of completion will be sent via email not later than July 9, 2023. In order to obtain the certificate you must attend every LIVE session or view the video replay for each event. and download all required reading material.
The LIVE sessions will adhere to the following schedule:
Thursday, June 1, 2023, 7:15 PM Eastern
Thursday, June 8, 2022, 7:15 PM Eastern
Thursday, June 15, 2023, 7:15 PM Eastern
Thursday, June 22, 2023, 7:15 PM Eastern
Your Instructor
Brion McClanahan holds a Ph.D in American History from the University of South Carolina. He is the author or co-author of six books, including the #1 Amazon best selling 9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America and How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America.