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Classroom Resources > The Constitution: That Delicate Balance

The Constitution: That Delicate Balance

Probe beliefs and biases about the Constitution in this video series for college and high school classrooms and adult learners.

A video instructional series on the American Constitution for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; 13 one-hour video programs.

Constitutional issues come to life in this Emmy Award-winning series. Key political, legal, and media professionals engage in spontaneous and heated debates on controversial issues such as campaign spending, the right to die, school prayer, and immigration reform. This series will deepen understanding of the life and power of this enduring document and its impact on history and current affairs, while bringing biases and misconceptions to light.

Series Directory

The Constitution: That Delicate Balance

Credits

Produced by Columbia University Seminars on Media and Society. 1984.

Closed Captioning
ISBN: 0-89776-623-7

Programs

1 Executive Privilege and Delegation of Powers

Can the President's conversations with advisors remain secret when Congress demands to know what was said? Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski, former President Gerald Ford, and Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox bring first-hand experience to this topic.

2 War Powers and Covert Action

If the president, as commander in chief, decides to declare war, can Congress restrain him? Debating the issue are Gerald Ford, former CIA deputy director Bobby Inman, former secretary of state Edmund Muskie, and others.

3 Nomination, Election, and Succession of the President

A tangled web of issues is involved in electing a president. Edmund Muskie, former presidential press secretary Jody Powell, party officials, and others discuss the role of political parties, the electoral college, and what to do if a president becomes disabled.

4 Criminal Justice and a Defendant’s Right to a Fair Trial

Should a lawyer defend a guilty person? This and other questions are debated by Bronx district attorney Mario Merola, former New York mayor Edward Koch, CBS News anchor Dan Rather, and others.

5 Crime and Insanity

Is a psychiatric evaluation precise enough to be allowed as testimony in a court of law? U.S. Court of Appeals judge Irving Kaufman, Hastings Center president Willard Gaylin, and others discuss the use of psychiatry in law.

6 Crime and Punishments

Cruel and unusual punishment, from overcrowding in prisons to the death penalty, is debated by U.S. Court of Appeals judge Arthur Alarcon, Federal Bureau of Prisons director Norman Carlson, government leaders, civil libertarians, and journalists.

7 Campaign Spending

Do limits on campaign spending infringe on First Amendment rights? Political consultant David Garth, Washington Post columnist David Broder, Bill Moyers, and others explore the issues.

8 National Security and Freedom of the Press

What right does the public have to know about national security issues? Former CIA director and secretary of defense James Schlesinger, former attorney general Griffin Bell, and others debate the issue.

9 School Prayer, Gun Control, and the Right To Assemble

A series of events embroils a small town in First and Second Amendment controversies. Featured are Griffin Bell, former secretary of education Shirley Hufstedler, and civil liberties counsel Jeanne Baker.

10 Right To Live, Right To Die

Gloria Steinem, Joseph Califano, Rep. Henry Hyde, Phil Donahue, and others discuss the right to make intensely individual decisions about dying, abortion, personal freedom, and privacy.

11 Immigration Reform

The rights of legal and illegal aliens to employment and to medical and educational services are debated by U.S. Court of Appeals judge Arlin Adams, Notre Dame president Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, and immigration officials and journalists.

12 Affirmative Action Versus Reverse Discrimination

Are quotas based on sex or race unconstitutional? Participants include Ellen Goodman, former EEOC chair Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington Post columnist William Raspberry, and United Federation of Teachers president Albert Shanker.

13 Federalism

How much power the federal government can wield over state and local affairs is debated in this final episode. Among those featured are Senators Orrin Hatch and Daniel Moynihan and Columbia University professor Diane Ravitch.

Series

The Constitution: That Delicate Balance

Probe beliefs and biases about the Constitution in this video series for college and high school classrooms and adult learners.

Series Directory

Credits

Programs

1 Executive Privilege and Delegation of Powers

2 War Powers and Covert Action

3 Nomination, Election, and Succession of the President

4 Criminal Justice and a Defendant’s Right to a Fair Trial

5 Crime and Insanity

6 Crime and Punishments

7 Campaign Spending

8 National Security and Freedom of the Press

9 School Prayer, Gun Control, and the Right To Assemble

10 Right To Live, Right To Die

11 Immigration Reform

12 Affirmative Action Versus Reverse Discrimination

13 Federalism

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