Episodes
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Built to Last
S1 E4 - 52m 40s
In this last episode, Sagal travels to Iceland, where after the country’s economic collapse, leaders decided to create a new constitution, looking to the U.S. Constitution for inspiration. This prompts Sagal to consider why our own founding document has lasted more than 225 years.
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Created Equal
S1 E3 - 53m 11s
The high ideals of the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal” didn’t make it into the Constitution in 1787. It took three-quarters of a century, and a bloody civil war, before the Fourteenth Amendment of 1868 made equality a constitutional right and gave the federal government the power to enforce it.
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It's a Free Country
S1 E2 - 53m 10s
Ask Americans what the Constitution’s most important feature is and most will say it’s the guarantees of liberty enshrined in the Bill of Rights. In this episode, Sagal explores the history of the Bill of Rights and addresses several stories — ripped from the headlines — involving freedom of speech, freedom of religion and right to privacy.
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A More Perfect Union
S1 E1 - 53m 10s
Breathing new life into the traditional civics lesson, Peter Sagal (host of NPR’s “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me”) travels across the country on a Harley Davidson to find out where the U.S. Constitution lives, how it works and how it doesn’t; how it unites us as a nation and how it has nearly torn us apart.
Extras + Features
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Equal Protection part II
S1 - 1m 47s
Learn how the 14th Amendment both protects and discriminates against citizens.
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Framework
S1 - 2m 39s
Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor explains the steps to understanding law and the role of the supreme court.
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Crowd-sourcing Iceland
S1 - 1m 37s
Iceland is in the middle of building a new constitution, learn more through Peter Sagal's visit.
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Becoming part of We the People part II
S1 - 2m 27s
Ahkil Amar explains the impact slavery had on the Constitution.
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Separation of Powers
S1 - 1m 17s
Our system of government is set up to control power, this animation explains how.
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Equal Protection part III
S1 - 5m 52s
Learn more about convicted felons losing the right to vote and the role the 14th Amendment plays.
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Balance does not always hold-Wartime
S1 - 6m 22s
Does the executive branch go too far in times of war? Learn more in this clip.
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The Long View
S1 - 3m 6s
Historians Richard Beeman and Akhil Amar explain how the Constitution's ability to change.
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Equal Protection part I
S1 - 3m 14s
Does the 14th Amendment protect the right to same sex marriage? Legal scholar Robert George explains his thoughts.
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Change the Constitution?
S1 - 1m 7s
Yale professor Akhil Amar talks about what changes he would, personally, like to see made to the Constitution.
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Who should change the Constitution?
S1 - 1m 1s
Professor Kurt Lash talks about why he believes any changes to the Constitution should be made by legislators or the people instead of judges.
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Why has the Constitution lasted so long?
S1 - 1m 28s
Yale professor Akhil Amar talks about why our Constitution has endured as long as it has. He believes this is because of its ability to be amended.
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