Why Does the Constitution Matter? with Anastasia Boden | BRI’s #ConstitutionDayLive

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Why does the Constitution matter? In this special edition of Primary Source Close Reads, Kirk Higgins is joined by Anastasia Boden, practicing Constitutional lawyer at the Pacific Legal Foundation, to discuss the 9th and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution. How have they been interpreted and used in Supreme Court decisions? Why are these Amendments—and the Constitution as a whole—so important to us today?

How did two Supreme Court Cases, fifty-eight years apart, come to such radically different conclusions? Explore the cases of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka (1954) to discover how the court interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection clause in each case.

This unit examines how the Constitution of the United States and the government it proscribes has adapted and changed throughout its history. The Constitution would provide a framework in which each successive generation would work to tackle the challenges and opportunities they faced.

Dive into some of the most important speeches and documents from United States history. These videos dissect these documents, define key terms, and explore the lasting impact of the featured documents.