HIST 352-01, U. S. Constitutional History since 1865, Spring 2008

Abstract

This course examines American constitutionalism from the Reconstruction period to the 1990s. In particular, we will focus on the Supreme Court's interpretation of the constitutional issues surrounding Reconstruction and civil rights, industrialization and economic expansion, the rise of national regulatory power, and the expansion of individual rights. In contrast to a constitutional law course, this class is more concerned with how American constitutionalism both shaped and responded to larger political and social developments, and less concerned with the evolution of constitutional doctrine in an of itself.