freedom.ou.edu : Online civic education from the University of Oklahoma

Free speech: one of the signature individual rights. In this episode, Professor Lindsay Robertson explores the many types of speech – some of them deeply offensive – which are constitutionally protected. He considers the values which are enshrined in the First Amendment and what they mean in a democracy.

Federalism – the division of powers between national and lower-level governments – has been a defining quality of American constitutionalism from its inception. In many ways, the story of federalism, and its transformations, is the story of American constitutional development. In this lecture, Professor Lindsay Robertson traces the evolving conceptions of the relative powers of the national and state governments.

The Establishment Clause, originally intended to prevent the national government from establishing an official religion, has much broader implications for the relations between church and state.  Professor Wert explores its changing history and argues that the Supreme Court today is more accommodating to religion than at sometimes in the past.

The United States has the oldest constitution in the world. With the exception of the Civil War, our political order has persisted for over 225 years. What has made America so exceptional in its longevity? Dr. Rufus Fears argues that our Founders uniquely relied on historical thought, using the knowledge of the past to make decisions in the present and plan for the future.

The story of freedom in the United States cannot be told without the Declaration of Independence. Dr. Fears explains what the stirring first paragraph of the Declaration meant to Americans in 1776 and what we’ve lost since then. But freedom is not only freedom from British rule. It must also be freedom to participate in the political system and to choose one’s own way of life. Dr. Fears contextualizes these three freedoms in American history and presents a coherent vision of what liberty meant to the founders.