Academic Explorations - Great Cases: American Legal History [Virginia State University] {Residential}

Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes stated that the law is both a mirror and a motor for society. The most notorious trials frequently go well beyond a specific case to reflect deeper truths about America. Simultaneously, decisions can drive both legal and social thinking in new directions. This history course examines famous cases in their historical, political, and social contexts. It explores Marbury v. Madison within the framework of the early Federalist period;  Dred Scott v. Sanford within the context of rising political fragmentation; Lochner v. New York in relation to the rise of the social and political movement known as Progressivism; Brown v. Board of Education in relation to the civil rights movement; and Hamdi v. Rumsfeld as representative of the tensions in post-9/11 America. You and your classmates will develop your close-reading and persuasive-writing skills by engaging in debates, simulations, group projects, and individual research, and learn to analyze and critique the landmark legal decisions in America, from the ratification of the Constitution to today.