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Course Introduction: Reading America's Written Constitution
This introductory lecture outlines a textual, article-by-article approach to the Constitution, emphasizing its democratic, pro-slavery, and national security dimensions.
Lecture guide · Written by AI from the lecture. For the lecture’s own words, open the Transcript tab.
This introductory lecture outlines the course structure for exploring American constitutional law through both the written Constitution and its unwritten supplements. Akhil Reed Amar explains that the first half of the course will examine the 8,000-word text in textual order from the Preamble through the amendments, while the second half will explore unwritten constitutional principles, precedents, and rules of interpretation. Throughout both sections, the lectures track three major substantive themes: how democratic the document was, its pro-slavery dimensions, and its role in national security and geostrategy.
Key Takeaways
- The American Constitution is about 8,000 words long and can be read in roughly half an hour.
- The first half of the course follows the written Constitution in textual order, from the Preamble through Articles I to VII and chronologically through the amendments.
- The second half of the course investigates the unwritten Constitution, which includes precedents, case law, structure, and techniques of interpretation that supplement the text.
- Amar tracks three core substantive themes across the course: democracy, slavery, and national security/geostrategy.
Concepts Explained4
Written Constitution—The formal, codified text of the American Constitution and its amendments.
Unwritten Constitution—The body of precedents, principles, customs, and practices that supplement the written constitutional text.
Constitutional Interpretation—The tools, techniques, and rules used to understand and apply constitutional provisions.
The Preamble—The introductory sentence of the Constitution that launches the whole document and helps answer three big constitutional questions.
Examples, Proofs & Derivations
Works & Sources Cited1
Primary Document
National Constitution Center—Museum and center in Philadelphia; cited as a place to visit and where Jeff Rosen is president.