Working Historians

Get out your parchment and quill, it’s Constitution Day! In this episode, Rob will discuss the historical origins of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, how legal and popular conceptions of the Amendment have changed over the decades, and how the Amendment is relevant to our present political sphere.

Dr. Denning is the Associate Dean for Southern New Hampshire University’s online graduate and undergraduate history programs, the host of the Working Historians podcast series, and producer of the Passion and Practicality podcast series.

It’s Constitution Day, and we are celebrating with a roundtable discussion of elections, protests, and the transfer of political power in the context of the Constitution of the United States by a panel of historians including Natalie Sweet, Ryan Tripp, and Joel Tscherne. Associate Dean Robert Denning hosts the presentation. Listeners can access this presentation, and Constitution Day podcasts from previous years, on the Working Historians Podbean page, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and any other podcast app. Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is an American federal observance recognizing the adoption of the U.S. Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens by birth or naturalization. It is normally observed Sept. 17, the day the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in 1787 in Philadelphia.

It’s Constitution Day! This presentation will include a roundtable discussion of the origins of the Constitution, some of its provisions, and its influence on modern life in the United States by a panel of historians and political scientists, including Michael Gattis, Harley Hall, Robbin Mellen, Jeremy Pedigo, and Brigitte Powell. Associate Dean Robert Denning hosts the presentation. Listeners can access the podcast on the Working Historians Podbean page, workinghistorians.com, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and any other podcast app. Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is an American federal observance recognizing the adoption of the U.S. Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens by birth of naturalization. It is normally observed Sept. 17, the day the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in 1787 in Philadelphia.

In this episode commemorating Constitution Day, three scholars discuss the importance of the United States Constitution to their own academic work and the Constitution’s importance to American citizens. Christopher Kline, who teaches historical methods and American history in the graduate program, discusses the Whiskey Rebellion in the context of the early national era. Dr. Robert Irvine, a consultant for Parc Resources in Oregon who teaches American history in the graduate program at Southern New Hampshire University, discusses his work with Native American groups. Dr. Jeffrey Czarnec, Associate Dean for Social Sciences at SNHU who oversees the Criminal Justice program, discusses the importance of the Constitution, particularly the Fourth Amendment, to everyday police work.

Recommendations and Links:

Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell, The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation (New York: Hill and Wang, 2008)

Library of Congress Documents on Constitution Day

The Working Historians podcast "History Soundbites presents a special Constitution Day 2018 episode with historian Karen Webb.

Patrick Callaway is a doctoral student at the University of Maine and an instructor at Southern New Hampshire University. This presentation was recorded to commemorate Constitution Day. In this presentation, recorded for Constitution Day 2017, Prof. Callaway discusses the origins of the United States Constitution, analyzes some of its important clauses, and the diverse responses to the Constitutions among the American people. He also draws some connections between the Constitution and contemporary political and social issues. In this presentation, Prof. Callaway references James H. Hutson, "The Creation of the Constitution: Scholarship at a Standstill," Reviews in American History 12:4 (Dec., 1984), 463-477. URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/2701897.