U.S. Constitution

2020, 4 minute video
Matt Sinnott interviews Encyclopedia Britannica expert Jeff Wallenfeldt and breaks down how the Electoral College system works.

2024, 7 minute video
In this Homework Help narrative, learn about the origins and functions of the Electoral College. This constitutional institution has long been the subject of intense debate and scrutiny, and this video challenges students to think about it for themselves.

2020, 1 hour, 35 minute video
Five U.S. presidents-including two in the last 20 years-have assumed office without winning the popular vote. The most recent example, President Trump's victory in 2016, renewed debate about the Electoral College's role in American politics. Supporters argue that the drafters of the U.S. Constitution wisely established the Electoral College to safeguard the nation from mob rule and ensure that voters in less populous states had a voice in presidential elections. But opponents argue that the drafters created the Electoral College to protect the institution of slavery and that, in the modern era, it subverts the will of people and unfairly gives voters in rural and swing states outsize influence. Has the Electoral College outlived its usefulness?

1984, 58 minute video
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.

2022, 3 minute video
In the Presidential Election of 1824, five men from one party were up for the job. It was left to the House of Representatives to figure out a winner – and the aftermath led to the modern two-party system

Covers the people, court cases, historical events, and terms relating to one of the most studied political documents in schools across the country, the United States Constitution.

identifies major cases dealing with constitutional issues.

Home Box Office, 2017, 48 minutes
"The Declaration of Independence, The U.S. Constitution and The Bill of Rights represent much more than the words used by America’s Founding Fathers to define a fragile, nascent country. They’re the living, breathing realization of America’s democratic ideal, the bedrock of a society that its people have built over nearly two-and-a-half centuries, and they provide a blueprint that is, was and will be a template for democracy around the world.To celebrate these iconic documents on our nation’s birthday, HBO presents a 45-minute special, directed by Alexandra Pelosi and narrated by David McCullough (John Adams), in which dozens of Americans – from actors and media personalities, to politicians, lawmakers and presidents, to schoolchildren whose future is being shaped by our shared past – read the three founding documents that define our outlook on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."