Fall 2019 Notes

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Syllabus

September 1st, 2019 
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW I
Fall 2019
Monday, Wednesday, 9:35-11:00 AM
McDonough Hall, Room 156

Professor Josh Chafetz
McDonough Hall, Room 576
josh.chafetz@georgetown.edu
Office Hours: Mondays, 2:30-4:00 PM, and by appointment

COURSE OVERVIEW

This class will explore American constitutional development, from the founding of the Republic through the present day.

ASSIGNMENTS

The required book for this course is Brest, Levinson, Balkin, Amar & Siegel, Processes of Constitutional Decisionmaking (7th ed. 2018) [abbreviated BLBAS]. Please be sure that you are getting the correct edition—older editions are not acceptable substitutes. Certain additional readings will be posted on this course’s Canvas site. All of the readings listed below are required. I am always happy to recommend additional reading on any topic you wish to pursue further.

DISCUSSION

The course will generally assume a Socratic form. You should, however, feel free to assist your colleagues in answering questions when they are called upon, and you are encouraged to volunteer during any discussions. There is also a discussion section on Canvas; although you are not required to use it, I hope you will feel free to continue our classroom discussions there.

LAPTOPS & OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES

Laptops are not permitted in class. For purposes of this prohibition, “laptops” includes tablets, phones, etc. You should plan to take notes by hand, and you should bring hard copies of all readings (including those posted to Canvas) to class. All cell phones should be silenced during class.

GRADING

Your grade in the course will primarily be based upon your performance on the final exam, which will be a 4-hour, open book, open-note exam. The grade may be adjusted up or down based on class participation. The course will be graded in accordance with the GULC recommended curve.

AVAILABILITY

I will generally be available after class to answer questions. I will also hold regularly scheduled office hours (at the time listed above). Please feel free to email me to set up an appointment at another time, as well.

CLASS RECORDINGS

This course will follow the default recording policy, under which all students have access to recordings of all classes. However, watching class recordings should not be considered a substitute for class attendance. Failure to attend class regularly will lead to both a lowered participation grade and a lessened understanding of the material.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  1. Gain an understanding of the broad sweep of American constitutional development, from the eighteenth century to the present.
  2. Gain familiarity with the recurrent tropes and practices of American constitutional discourse.
  3. Demonstrate an ability to situate and analyze the present moment in the context of American constitutional development.

I. THE CONSTITUTION

Class 1 (Sept. 4): The Declaration of Independence (1776) [Canvas]; The Articles of Confederation (1781) [Canvas]; Constitution of the United States. BLBAS 1-16

II. THE CONSTITUTION IN THE EARLY REPUBLIC

Class 2 (Sept. 9): The Bank of the U.S., I. Lance Banning, The Jeffersonian Persuasion: Evolution of a Party Ideology 126-29, 134-60 (1978) [Canvas]; BLBAS 27-37

Class 3 (Sept. 11): The Election of 1800, I. BLBAS 91-104

Class 4 (Sept. 16): The Election of 1800, II. BLBAS 112-39

Class 5 (Sept. 18): The Bank of the U.S., II. BLBAS 37-53, 66-71

Class 6 (Sept. 23): The Bank of the U.S., III. BLBAS 53-55, 74-81

Class 7 (Sept. 25): Empire. BLBAS 154-57; Johnson v. M’Intosh, 21 U.S. (8 Wheat.) 543 (1823) [Canvas]; Rogers M. Smith, Civic Ideals: Conflicting Visions of Citizenship in U.S. History 197-200, 235-42 (1997) [Canvas]

III. SLAVERY, THE CIVIL WAR, AND RECONSTRUCTION

Class 8 (Sept. 30): The Constitution of Slavery, I. BLBAS 245-60; Frederick Douglass, The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro (1852) [Canvas]

Class 9 (Oct. 2): The Constitution of Slavery, II. BLBAS 260-88

Class 10 (Oct. 7): Civil War, I. BLBAS 293-98; South Carolina Secession Resolution (December 24, 1860) [Canvas]; Lincoln, First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1861) [Canvas]; BLBAS 313-16

Class 11 (Oct. 9): Civil War, II. Lincoln, Special Session Message (July 4, 1861) [Canvas]; BLBAS 308-13; Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863) [Canvas]; BLBAS 325-30 ** No classes on Mon., Oct. 14; Classes on Tues., Oct. 15 meet on a Monday schedule**

Class 12 (Oct. 15): Reconstruction, I. BLBAS 331-38, 346-51, 356-57, 376-77

Class 13 (Oct. 16): Reconstruction, II. BLBAS 377-90

Class 14 (Oct. 21): Reconstruction, III. BLBAS 391-95, 398-425, 430-31

IV. THE FIRST HALF OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Class 15 (Oct. 23): The Nineteenth Amendment. Reva B. Siegel, Text in Contest: Gender and the Constitution from a Social Movement Perspective, 150 U. Pa. L. Rev. 297, 334-44 (2001); Jack M. Balkin, How Social Movements Change (or Fail to Change) the Constitution: The Case of the New Departure, 39 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 27, 49-65 (2005) [both on Canvas]

Class 16 (Oct. 28): Lochner and Lochner-ism. BLBAS 463-81, 487-89, 494-502

Class 17 (Oct. 30): The Growth of the Administrative State. Myers v. United States, 272 U.S. 52 (1926); Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, 295 U.S. 602 (1935) [both on Canvas]

Class 18 (Nov. 4): The New Deal and the “Switch in Time,” I. BLBAS 541-53, 591-607

Class 19 (Nov. 6): The New Deal and the “Switch in Time,” II. BLBAS 553-64, 607-18

Class 20 (Nov. 11): The Administrative State Goes to War: Korematsu and Youngstown. BLBAS 1054-60, 936-57

V. THE CIVIL RIGHTS AND SEXUAL REVOLUTIONS

Class 21 (Nov. 13): Birmingham. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from the Birmingham Jail (1963); Walker v. City of Birmingham, 388 U.S. 307 (1967) [both on Canvas]

Class 22 (Nov. 18): The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. BLBAS 621-54

Class 23 (Nov. 20): The ERA and its Failure (?). BLBAS 1252-73, 1275-81

VII. THE CONSERVATIVE REVOLUTION

Class 24 (Nov. 25): Realignment and the Conservative Turn. Barry Goldwater, Republican National Convention Acceptance Speech (1964); Ronald Reagan, First Inaugural Address (1981); Donald Trump, Inaugural Address (2017) [all on Canvas]

Class 25 (Dec. 2): The New Federalism. BLBAS 660-74, 686-95, 704-10, 714-25

Class 26 (Dec. 4): The Voting Rights Act, Again. BLBAS 759-78; Josh Chafetz, Governing and Deciding Who Governs, 2015 U. Chi. Legal. F. 73, 90-111 [Canvas]