America From Scratch

Undergraduate

What would the United States look like without a Supreme Court? Without a Senate? Without states? What if the United States had ten presidents instead of one? Or no president at all? As radical as these constitutional propositions might sound, they were all at least considered by America’s founders at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and the state ratifying conventions that followed. In this class, we examine such proposals—proposals considered unthinkable today, but not during the Constitutional Convention and in other countries throughout history. Of each provision, we ask: why was this provision proposed at the Convention? Why was it rejected? What if America passed an amendment adopting it today? To answer these questions, we first read the records of the Constitutional Convention, as well as documents, speeches, and letters advocating for these “radical” constitutional designs. We also examine real-world examples of how these provisions operate(d) in other contexts. Introduction to Politics is preferred, but not required. SO 0 Course cr HTBA