Episode 4: Dissent in the Founding Era

09/12/18 • 24 min

The U.S. Constitution is the oldest written constitution still in use today. A single document that lays out a framework for how our country is governed, the Constitution is fairly simple, short, and flexible. But when it was proposed, it was considered a radical design for a government. We talk with a historian about the dissent that nearly prevented ratification of this new constitution in 1788.

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Episode 3: Heroes of American Dissent

A law professor shares a list of people—some well known, some not—whom he credits with seeing America for what it could be and then working toward making it so.

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Episode 5: The Evolution of Free Speech

New York City, 1917. Americans get their music from player pianos. Plastic was just barely invented. And only about 25% of teenagers actually went to high school. But in a packed courtroom, a woman named Emma Goldman is on trial. We talk with a law professor who tells the story of 20th-century free speech, starting with Goldman. And we round out the series with a conversation about teaching dissent in schools.