Constitutional Structure – Cases In Context (4th Edition)

The perfectly-sized casebook for a one-semester class on constitutional structure. This “split” includes access to half of the video library.

Chapter 1: The Founding

A. The Origins of the Constitution

  1. The Declaration of Independence
  2. The Origin of American Federalism
  3. The Agency Theory of Government
  4. The Articles of Confederation
  5. Drafting and Ratifying the Constitution
  6. The Federalist Papers (No. 10, No. 78, No. 51)

B. The Origins of the Bill of Rights

  1. Federalist Objections to a Bill of Rights
  2. The Anti-Federalist Reply (Brutus II)
    1. Brutus II, The New York Journal
  3. James Madison Delivers on the Promise of Amendments
    1. Madison’s Speech to the House Introducing Amendments
  4. The Original Meaning of the Phrase “Rights . . . Retained by the People” in the Ninth Amendment

C. The Scope of Congressional Power: The Debate over the First National Bank

  1. James Madison, Speech in Congress Opposing the National Bank 
  2. Opinion of Attorney General Edmund Randolph 
  3. Opinion of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson 
  4. Opinion of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton 

D. Popular Sovereignty vs. State Sovereignty

  1. Chisholm v. Georgia 
  2. The Eleventh Amendment

E. Fundamental Principles vs. Expressed Constraints

  1. Calder v. Bull 

Chapter 2: Foundational Cases on Constitutional Structure: The Marshall Court

A. The Judicial Power

  1. Marbury v. Madison
  2. Evidence of the Meaning of the “Judicial Power” 
  3. Judicial Review of State Statutes and State Supreme Court Decisions 

B. The Necessary and Proper Clause 

  1. McCulloch v. Maryland 
  2. John Marshall, “A Friend of the Constitution,” Alexandria Gazette 
  3. James Madison, Letter to Judge Spencer Roane 
  4. James Madison, Letter to Charles J. Ingersoll 
  5. Andrew Jackson, Veto Message 

C. The Commerce Clause

  1. Gibbons v. Ogden
  2. Evidence of the Original Meaning of the Word “Commerce” 

D. Did the “Bill of Rights” Apply to the States? 

  1. Barron v. City of Baltimore

Chapter 3: Slavery and the Constitution

A. The Development of Slavery in America from 1619 to 1787 

B. The Constitution’s Three Primary Concessions to Slavery 

  1. The First Compromise over Slavery: The Three- Fifths Clause
  2. The Second Concession to Slavery: The Slave Trade Clause
  3. The Third Concession to Slavery: The Fugitive Slave Clause
  4. Antislavery Delegates Held the Line and Rejected the Concept of “Property in Man”
  5. Why Compromise with Slaveholders?
  6. The Growth of Slavery and Proslavery Ideology After Ratification

C. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793

  1. Salmon P. Chase Argued That the Fugitive Slave Act Was Unconstitutional
    1. Speech of Salmon P. Chase, in the Case of the Colored Woman, Matilda, Who Was Brought Before the Court of Common Pleas of Hamilton County, Ohio, by Writ of Habeas Corpus
  2. The Taney Court Upheld the Constitutionality of the Fugitive Slave Act
    1. Prigg v. Pennsylvania
  3. Constitutional Abolitionism: Rejecting the Framers’ Intent
  4. The Constitutional Abolitionists Response to Prigg
    1. Lysander Spooner, A Defense for Fugitive Slaves Against the Acts of Congress of February 12, 1793

Chapter 4: Enumerated Powers

A. The Chase Court

  1. United States v. Dewitt
  2. Hepburn v. Griswold
  3. Knox v. Lee
  4. Juilliard v. Greenman

B. Progressive Era Cases

  1. United States v. E.C. Knight Co.
  2. Champion v. Ames
  3. Hammer v. Dagenhart
  4. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States

C. The New Deal Court

  1. The Substantial Effects Doctrine
    1. NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp.
    2. United States v. Darby
  2. The Aggregation Principle
    1. Wickard v. Filburn
    2. Barry Cushman, Rethinking the New Deal Court: The Structure of a Constitutional Revolution
    3. United States v. South- Eastern Underwriters

D. The Warren Court

  1. Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States
  2. Katzenbach v. McClung

E. The Rehnquist Court

  1. The Spending Power
    1. South Dakota v. Dole
    2. President James Madison, Veto of Federal Public Works Bill
  2. The Commerce Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause
    1. United States v. Lopez
    2. United States v. Morrison
    3. Gonzales v. Raich

F. The Roberts Court

  1. The Commerce and Necessary and Proper Clauses
    1. NFIB v. Sebelius
  2. The Spending Power
    1. NFIB v. Sebelius

Chapter 5: Federalism Limits on Congressional Power

A. The Tenth Amendment

  1. The Rise and Fall of the Tenth Amendment on the Burger Court
  2. The Rise of the Tenth Amendment on the Rehnquist Court
  3. The Anti- Commandeering Doctrine
    1. New York v. United States
    2. Printz v. United States

B. The Eleventh Amendment

  1. Hans v. State of Louisiana

C. Abrogating State Sovereign Immunity Through Article I Powers

  1. Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida

D. Limiting the Enforcement Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

  1. City of Boerne v. Flores

E. Abrogating State Sovereign Immunity Through the Enforcement Clause

  1. Allen v. Cooper

Chapter 6: Federalism Limits on State Power

A. The Dormant Commerce Clause

  1. Willson v. Black Bird Creek Marsh Co.
  2. Cooley v. Board of Wardens
  3. South Carolina State Highway Department v. Barnwell Bros.
  4. Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Commission
  5. Tyler Pipe v. Washington Department of Revenue
  6. United Haulers Association v. Oneida- Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority

B. The Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV

  1. Hicklin v. Orbeck

Chapter 7: The Executive Power

A. A Single, Vigorous Executive

  1. Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 70

B. The President’s Power to Suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus

  1. Ex parte Merryman
  2. Abraham Lincoln, Message to Congress in Special Session

C. The Commander in Chief ’s Power to Use Military Force

  1. The Prize Cases

D. The President’s Power to Expropriate Property in Time of War

  1. The Power to Emancipate Slaves
    1. Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation, Washington, D.C.
    2. Benjamin Curtis, Objections to Emancipation Proclamation
  2. The Power to Seize Private Businesses
    1. Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer

E. The President’s Domestic Powers When He Enters into Agreements with Other Nations

  1. Dames & Moore v. Regan

F. The Power to Detain American Citizens Without Trial

  1. Hirabayashi v. United States
  2. Korematsu v. United States
  3. Ex parte Endo

Chapter 8: The Separation of Powers

A. The Appointment and Removal Powers

  1. Morrison v. Olson
  2. Seila Law v. Consumer Finance Protection Bureau
  3. National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning

B. Presidential Privileges and Immunities

  1. Executive Privilege
    1. United States v. Nixon
  2. Presidential Immunity from Civil Suits
    1. Clinton v. Jones
    2. Trump v. Vance

Chapter 9: Advisory Opinions and the Political Question Doctrine

A. Prohibition of Advisory Opinions

B. The Political Question Doctrine

  1. The Political Question Doctrine and the Guarantee Clause
    1. Baker v. Carr
  2. The Political Question Doctrine and Impeachment
    1. Walter Nixon v. United States
  3. The Political Question Doctrine and Foreign Policy
    1. Zivotofsky ex rel. Zivotofsky v. Clinton
  4. The Political Question Doctrine and Political Gerrymandering
    1. Rucho v. Common Cause

Chapter 10: Standing, Ripeness, and Mootness

A. Standing

  1. Allen v. Wright
  2. Federal Election Commission v. Akins
  3. Clapper v. Amnesty International USA

B. Ripeness

  1. Doe v. Bush

C. Mootness

  1. DeFunis v. Odegaard
  2. Friends of the Earth v. Laidlaw Environmental Services
  3. New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. City of New York