The National Constitution Center presents veteran film and television writer Jonathan Hennessey discussing his graphic novel The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, in which Hennessey uses the popular medium of graphic art to illustrate and breathe new life into the U.S. Constitution, the ideas it expresses, and its history.
To listen to this interview, scroll to the December 15, 2008 program.
Associate editor and professor of history at Indiana University, John Nieto-Phillips speaks with Professor James Meriwether about his article, "'Worth a Lot of Negro Votes': Black Voters, Africa, and the 1960 Presidential Campaign." When John F. Kennedy telephoned Coretta Scott King to express sympathy for her jailed husband, he had little idea that his two-minute call would move to center stage in the 1960 presidential election. That call, James H. Meriwether argues, has obscured Kennedy's broader efforts to secure the support of black voters while not alienating white voters in the no longer "solid South." Kennedy drew on the growing transnational relationship black Americans had with an ancestral continent undergoing its own freedom struggles, revealing that he was more interested in Africa than in civil rights. Africa, the newest frontier for Kennedy, became a place where he could show his Cold War credentials, find common ground with black American voters, and strengthen his chances to win the presidency.
How can U.S. citizens today view Native American history through a Constitutional lens? In answering that question, Bob Miller, Lewis & Clark Law School professor and Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, uncovers the history of Federal Indian Law. Professor Miller describes the Doctrine of Discovery's long reach, from the founding of the colonies through the writing of the Constitution all the way to Russia planting its flag on the Arctic seafloor in 2007.
Idaho State University Political Science Professor David Gray Adler examines what he describes as the great constitutional crisis of the day: the usurpation and abdication of constitutional roles by President and Congress. Building his argument on the concerns of the Framers, Dr. Adler points to the endangerment to liberty posed by the erosion of checks and balances.
Audio and video options are available.
John Lloyd of California State Polytechnic University looks at the transition of the ideological and political conflicts that led to the Civil War and that continued during the war from conflict over the maintenance of the Union to conflict over the existence and continuation of slavery.
John Lloyd of California State Polytechnic University looks at the political and ideological conflicts between the North and South that led up to the Civil War, including the extension of slavery into the territories and debate over the Fugitive Slave Law.
Jack Rakove of Stanford University examines the proceedings of the Philadelphia Convention, focusing specifically on the compromises struck and the reasons for the formation of the Electoral College.
To listen to this lecture, select "The Philadelphia Convention" under "Listen to Dr. Rakove's lectures."
Jack Rakove of Stanford University looks at the Founding Fathers' thoughts on government and specifically at the position James Madison presents in his "Vices of the Political System."
To listen to this lecture, select "Madison's Vices of the Political System" under "Listen to Dr. Rakove's lectures."
Jack Rakove of Stanford University discusses the influences that shaped early American political thought, including the move to rebellion and the formation of the U.S. government at the American Revolution's end.
To listen to this lecture, select "250 Years of Political Theory: Machiavelli, Locke, and Montesquieu" under "Listen to Dr. Rakove's lectures."
Don Snider of the U.S. Army War College; Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold of the U.S. Marine Corps; Peter Hegseth of Vets for Freedom; and Lt. Gen. Dennis McCarthy, Executive Director of the Reserve Officers Association, discuss several questions related to military-civilian relations: "What is the line on offering advice?," "How much can/should the military speak out?," "What are the ethical dimensions of serving both branches of government?," "What is the obligation that senior officers owe to their seniors, and to their juniors?," and "How much should officers be involved in the media?"
Audio and video options are available.