LibGuides: Constitution & Federalism: Media

Featured Streaming Media

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Amending the Constitution (18:00) This program defines what an amendment is, explains why amendments have been needed down through the centuries, and describes the process for proposing and ratifying an amendment. A Cambridge Educational Production.
Series: In Search of the Constitution (11-part series, 60 minutes each) Bill Moyers examines the vitality of our nation's most important document by listening to people who interpret and teach it, as well as people whose lives have been changed by it. Featured in the series are Supreme Court Justices O'Connor and Powell, and former Justices Brennan and Blackmun; historians Forrest McDonald, Michael Kammen, and Olive Taylor; former Court of Appeals Judge Robert Bork; former Attorney General Edwin Meese; legal philosopher Ronald Dworkin; author and educator Mortimer Adler; and citizens whose battles for their rights went all the way to the Supreme Court. In the final program, Moyers examines contemporary issues such as drug testing, computer dossiers, and presidential war powers, and how they test the Constitution.
Series: The Amendments to the Constitution: Bill of Rights and Beyond (20 part series, 7-20 minutes each) The U.S. Constitution is the world's oldest written charter of government in continuous effect. Much of the success of this document can be attributed to the way the Constitution has changed to meet the needs of the American people. This comprehensive series explores each amendment, its origins, its real-world applications, its history of interpretation in the nation's courts, and its implications for the future. Combining computer graphics, original live-action video, historical artwork, and archival footage with narration and interviews, each program reveals an important chapter in the ongoing history of the U.S. Constitution.A Cambridge Educational Production.
The Constitution, the Articles, and Federalism (13:00) In which John Green teaches you about the United States Constitution. During and after the American Revolutionary War, the government of the new country operated under the Articles of Confederation. While these Articles got the young nation through its war with England, they weren't of much use when it came to running a country. So, the founding fathers decided try their hand at nation-building, and they created the Constitution of the United States, which you may remember as the one that says We The People at the top. John will tell you how the convention came together, some of the compromises that had to be made to pass this thing, and why it's very lucky that the framers installed a somewhat reasonable process for making changes to the thing. You'll learn about Shays' Rebellion, the Federalist Papers, the elite vs rabble dynamic of the houses of congress, and start to find out just what an anti-federalist is.
Overview of Federalism (2:00) This Video Explains Overview of Federalism.
US Constitution Intro (7:00) This Video Explains US Constitution
The Supreme Court: Gatekeeper of the Constitution (2:00) Ever wonder why a new appointment to the Supreme Court is such big news? Of the three branches that make up the Federal Government, it’s arguably the judiciary – the courts system – that has the greatest impact upon our lives.