After winning its independence, the new American republic faced internal threats to its survival political, economic and cultural differences resurfaced during the return to peacetime. These pressures prompted the nation’s leaders to abandon the loose confederacy formed during the Revolutionary War and embrace a more unified country under a federal constitution. Professor Cornell highlights specific clauses of the U.S. Constitution shaped by the experience of the war, as well as the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. He concludes with an examination of modern approaches to constitutional interpretation.
Part 1 of 9: What Pressures Influenced the Creation of the U.S. Constitution? (3:05)
Part 2 of 9: Congressional Power to Tax (1:52)
Part 3 of 9: Necessary and Proper Clause (1:57)
Part 4 of 9: Executive Powers (2:11)
Part 5 of 9: Judicial Powers (1:46)
Part 6 of 9: Treason Against the United States (2:28)
Part 7 of 9: New States Admitted (1:36)
Part 8 of 9: Supremacy Clause (1:55)
Part 9 of 9: How Should We Interpret the Constitution Today? (2:49)