Total run time:
27m
Amendments to the Constitution are almost as old as the Constitution itself. Learn more about the original “Amendments” (which we now call the Bill of Rights) as well as crucial later amendments that altered and extended the Constitution in new ways.
Which Amendments have strengthened the national government, and how have they done so?
Professor Michael McConnell gives an overview of how different amendments have strengthened the scope of power of the federal government. For instance - the 18th
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Which Amendments have strengthened the national government, and how have they done so?
Professor Michael McConnell gives an overview of how different amendments have strengthened the scope of power of the federal government. For instance - the 18th Amendment (prohibition) strengthened the US as a nation-state because it created a national police force. The 16th Amendment (income tax) gave the federal government a much greater ‘power of the purse.’ The 17th Amendment weakens the authority of states by replacing the election of Senators by state legislatures to direct election by the people of those states.
Overall, the Courts serve as the greatest check on the expansion of the power of the federal government by determining when it oversteps its proper scope of authority.
Michael William McConnell is a constitutional law scholar who served as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit from 2002 until 2009. Since 2009, McConnell has served as Director of the Stanford Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School.
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.
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Total run time:
27m
Course:
Total videos:
8
Difficulty:
First Year
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