Ever wonder why the law protects some of the most offensive speech you’ve ever heard? We sit down with Professor Eugene Volokh to map the real boundaries of the First Amendment—where protection is strongest, where it stops, and why those edges exist at all. No jargon, no euphemisms, just a clear guide to what the Constitution allows the government to punish and what it must tolerate. We start by untangling the core exceptions: defamation, true threats, and incitement of imminent lawless acti...
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Ever wonder why the law protects some of the most offensive speech you’ve ever heard? We sit down with Professor Eugene Volokh to map the real boundaries of the First Amendment—where protection is strongest, where it stops, and why those edges exist at all. No jargon, no euphemisms, just a clear guide to what the Constitution allows the government to punish and what it must tolerate. We start by untangling the core exceptions: defamation, true threats, and incitement of imminent lawless acti...
How the Constitution Faced Slavery without Saying Its Name
Civics In A Year
25 minutes
2 weeks ago
How the Constitution Faced Slavery without Saying Its Name
We explore how three clauses—and what’s left unsaid—shaped slavery’s legal status at the founding while pointing toward its moral illegitimacy. Dr. Michael Zuckert traces the tension between federal structure, state authority, and the Declaration’s promise of equality, and follows that thread to Reconstruction. • abolitionist charge of a pro‑slavery Constitution vs Lincoln’s limited‑accommodation view • three clauses: three‑fifths, slave trade to 1808, fugitive return • deliberate omission o...
Civics In A Year
Ever wonder why the law protects some of the most offensive speech you’ve ever heard? We sit down with Professor Eugene Volokh to map the real boundaries of the First Amendment—where protection is strongest, where it stops, and why those edges exist at all. No jargon, no euphemisms, just a clear guide to what the Constitution allows the government to punish and what it must tolerate. We start by untangling the core exceptions: defamation, true threats, and incitement of imminent lawless acti...
