Constitutional Philosophy of the American Revolution (Ewald)
Faculty
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| William Ewald Professor of Law and Philosophy wewald@law.upenn.edu |
Additional Information
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Expository Writing
Grading
10% Participation,
90% Paper
Yes
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- Class sessions are regularly recorded. I will make these recordings routinely available on the course site to everyone in the class.
- When you are better, please make an appointment to meet with me and I will review/answer questions about what you missed.
Meeting Times/Location
W 4:30PM - 6:30PM
Tanenbaum Hall 142
Category
Seminar
Credits
3.0
Constitutional Philosophy of the American Revolution
This seminar will focus on the constitutional and political ideas of the American Revolution, with a focus on the works of James Madison and James Wilson.
We will start by reading the classic study by Bernard Bailyn, *The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution,* and selections from Gordon Wood’s *Creation of the American Republic.* These works are the starting point for all academic work in this area.
From there, we will investigate the background in English constitutional thought, the constitutional crisis of the British Empire, and the role of John Dickinson and James Wilson in the debates leading to the Declaration of Independence.
The rest of the class will be devoted to the constitutional thought of Wilson and Madison. We shall start by considering their contributions to the drafting of the US Constitution, then examine some of Madison’s theoretical writings (in *The Federalist* and elsewhere). Finally, we shall make a close examination of Wilson’s lectures on law, emphasizing their relationship to the Scottish Enlightenment, and to continental European political philosophy.
Because there is a great deal of material to cover, and because much of it is technical and difficult, I shall spend the first hour of each class summarizing and presenting it, leaving the second hour for discussion. (That means no student presentations, but an expectation that you will have read the week's materials, will post a brief written commentary online each week, and will participate in the discussion.)
I am currently writing a book about Wilson’s constitutional thought, and some of the material we'll discuss is at the frontiers of current research, For advanced students, there is the possibility of undertaking a more substantial research paper (likely in combination with an independent study).
Constitutional Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of constitutional law; Perform legal analysis in the context of constitutional law; Communicate effectively on topics related to constitutional law; Demonstrate an understanding of constitutional law affects other areas of law.
Perspectives on the Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of how the law affects, and is affected by, the individual course topic; Perform legal analysis in the context of the individual course topic; Communicate effectively on the legal and other aspects of the individual course topic; Demonstrate the ability to use other disciplines to analyze legal issues relevant to the individual course topic, including economics, philosophy, and sociology, as appropriate.
Textbooks
"James Madison, Writings " by Library of America; ed. Jack Rakove |