Explore the making of our Declaration of Independence. Learn how representative thirteen disparate colonies came together to make declarations and fight for independence.
What they were and how our government was to work according to the founders. Much is known and discussed about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, but why are the Federalist Papers often neglected, or treated as an afterthought? After all, it was these papers and their three authors who sold the new government to the people and explained how it was to work, yet they go largely ignored.
Learn what each of the first ten amendments to Constitution, our Bill of Rights, protects. First see what significant personal rights are protected and articulated in the first three amendments, then learn what rights of the accused are protected by 4-8, and what 9 and 10 protect for the states and how they came to apply to us.
How the Constitution was ratified without a Bill of Rights and why it became essential to add one. Learn who did the choosing and how the States were convinced to adopt it and how was that accomplished?
During this presentation we will discuss The Rehnquist/O’Conner Court and how it provided middle ground and achieved strong acceptance by the nation. We will discuss how the Scalia/Ginsburg Relationship provided spirited debate of the issues, and how The Robert Court changed after they departed giving way to the... The Thomas/Alito/Trump Court – by taking a hard right. We will conclude with a look at what the future might hold.
In this session we will discuss what the Constitutions says about what the Supreme Court is supposed to do. How it has evolved over time. Then we will discuss famous cases and incidents of several of the Courts beginning in 1801 with The Marshall Court through the Burger Court in the 1970’s including cases from The Taney Court, The Fuller/Harlan Court, The Hughes Court vs. F.D. Roosevelt, The Warren Court and conclude with The Burger Court.
What really happened during those 100 hot days in the summer of 1887 in Philadelphia? What was discussed and compromised to create a nation based on the “rule of law?” Learn the answers to these questions, then discover how it overcame significant obstacles in order to become the first Democratic Republic in over 200 years.
The judiciary is a co-equal branch of government. Where does the power of judicial review come from and how the court got the power to say what the law is? How do the courts operate? How does the Supreme Court interpret the laws of the land?
We will discuss the powers granted to the chief executive in Article II and the seven major powers the President has assumed since the office was established and a discussion of the other powers of the Executive, expressed and implied.
In the late 1780s, our first national government was a spectacular failure and almost led to the dissolution of our new country almost before it began. Congress commanded little respect, with little to no support from State governments that were anxious to maintain their power. This presentation will explore why this was so, what prompted the states to agree to change, and how it occurred.
