KC Johnson

American Constitutional History (spring 2025)

Requirements:

Final Exam: 45%

Moot Court presentation (end of semester): 30%

participation in discussion sections: 15%

quizzes: 10%

Contact info:

email: kcjohnson9@gmail.com

cell: 207-329-8456

office hours: Zoom, by appointment

Schedule

January 27: Introduction

Synchronous meeting, entire class, at:

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KC Johnson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 848 8316 9969

January 29: no class (college schedule)

Week of February 3: Before the Constitution

asynchronous lecture snippets via YouTube, quiz #1

synchronous discussion section #1, on reading below (in groups):

Week of February 10: Adopting the Constitution

asynchronous lecture snippets via YouTube, quiz #2

synchronous discussion section #2, on reading below:.

  • US Constitution (as written, 1787)
  • Bill of Rights (1789).
  • Brutus v.  Federalist, New York ratifying debate, re:
  • size of the republic; Brutus No. 1; Federalist No. 10
  • judicial power: Brutus No. 11; Federalist No. 78
  • military affairs: Brutus No. 8; Federalist No. 8

Week of February 17: Evolution of Constitutionalism

asynchronous lecture snippets via YouTube, quiz #3

synchronous discussion section #3, on reading below:

Week of February 24: Battle over Slavery

asynchronous lecture snippets via YouTube, quiz #4

synchronous discussion section #4, on reading below:

Week of March 3: Civil War & Reconstruction

asynchronous lecture snippets via YouTube, quiz #5

synchronous discussion section #5, on reading below:

  • James Simon, “Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney,” Journal of Supreme Court History (2010)
  • Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
  • Gettysburg Address (1863)
  • 14th amendment congressional debate (1, 2)
  • Civil Rights Cases (1883)

Week of March 10: The Constitution in Transition

asynchronous lecture snippets via YouTube, quiz #6

synchronous discussion section #6, on reading below:

Week of March 17: Interwar Era

asynchronous lecture snippets via YouTube, quiz #7

synchronous discussion section #7, on reading below:

Week of March 24: National Security & Civil Rights

asynchronous lecture snippets via YouTube, quiz #8

synchronous discussion section #8, on reading below:

  • Michael Klarman, “Is the Supreme Court Sometimes Irrelevant? Race and the Southern Criminal Justice System in the 1940s”, Journal of American History (2002)
  • Sweatt v. Painter (1950)
  • Korematsu v. United States (1944)
  • Dennis v. United States

Week of March 31: From Warren to Nixon

asynchronous lecture snippets via YouTube, quiz #9

synchronous discussion section #9, on reading below:

  • Chris Hickman, “Courting the Right: Richard Nixon’s 1968 Campaign against the Warren Court,” Journal of Supreme Court History
  • Miranda v. Arizona (1965)

Week of April 7: Reagan & the Court

asynchronous lecture snippets via YouTube, quiz #10

synchronous discussion section 10, on reading below:

  • United States v. Virginia (1996)
  • Roner v. Evans (1996)
  • Jones v. Clinton (1997)
  • Bush v. Gore (2000)

spring break

Week of April 21: Political & Cultural Controversies

asynchronous lecture snippets via YouTube, quiz #11

synchronous discussion section 11, on reading below:

  • United States v. Virginia (1996)
  • Roner v. Evans (1996)
  • Jones v. Clinton (1997)
  • Bush v. Gore (2000)

Week of April 28: The Bush & Obama Years

asynchronous lecture snippets via YouTube, quiz #12

synchronous discussion section #12, on reading below:

  • John Yoo, Office of Legal Counsel memo, justifying use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” against Guantanamo detainees. (This memo was subsequently repudiated by the OLC.)
  • Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006)
  • United States v. Windsor (2013)

Week of May 5: The Modern Era (Trump, Biden)

asynchronous lecture snippets via YouTube, quiz #13

synchronous discussion section #13, on reading to be posted:

Final Week Moot courts

Learning objectives for this course include: (1) ability to read and interpret key historical sources, including primary sources, court cases, and congressional debates; (2) ability to determine how important themes in U.S. constitutional history change over time; (3) ability to present key legal arguments orally. Item (1) will occur throughout the course; item (2) will occur in the examination; item (3) will occur in the moot court.

The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an environment free from cheating and plagiarism. Each student is responsible for being aware of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both. The complete text of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn College procedure for implementing that policy can be found at this site: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies. If a faculty member suspects a violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation, confirms that violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty member MUST report the violation.

In order to receive disability-related academic accommodations students must first be registered with the Center for Student Disability Services. Students who have a documented disability or suspect they may have a disability are invited to set up an appointment with the Director of the Center for Student Disability Services, Ms. Valerie Stewart-Lovell at 718-951-5538. If you have already registered with the Center for Student Disability Services please provide me with the course accommodation form and discuss your specific accommodation with me (which will, of course, be granted).

State law regarding non-attendance because of religious beliefs can be found in the Bulletin