Modern Moves, Part 2 | America's Written Constitution with Akhil Reed Amar

The lecture is a masterful synthesis of constitutional history, weaving together legal analysis, political context, and social movements. Amar’s argument that the Cold War and competition for Black voters were key drivers of the 1960s amendments is compelling and well-supported. He provides specific examples, such as the Soviet propaganda highlighting segregation and the strategic importance of Alaska and Hawaii. The discussion of the 25th Amendment is particularly insightful, explaining how the Kennedy assassination exposed the need for clear succession rules. The lecture is rigorous in its use of historical sources and constitutional text, though it is an interpretation rather than a neutral overview. The structure is clear, with each amendment treated in turn, and the connections between them are drawn effectively. The only minor weakness is that the lecture assumes some prior knowledge of constitutional history, but this is appropriate for a course lecture. Overall, this is an excellent, thought-provoking analysis that deepens one’s understanding of the Constitution’s evolution.

The title accurately reflects the content, which focuses on the modern amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

9/10

Lecture by a Yale professor, part of an established course, with clear structure and historical references. The content is well-argued and based on constitutional history, though it is an opinionated interpretation rather than a neutral review.

• 00:00The amendments of the 1960s
• 02:23Why the District of Columbia mattered
• 05:08The Cold War audience
• 07:13Alaska, Hawaii, and projecting power
• 10:22The Twenty-Fourth Amendment and poll taxes
• 14:37The Twenty-Fifth Amendment after Dallas
• 17:51Constitutionalizing the presidential tag team
• 19:59The Twenty-Sixth Amendment and Vietnam
• 23:49The Twenty-Eighth Amendment
• 25:23The March on Washington

• America's Written Constitution - Online Course — Course page for the lecture series
• America's Written Constitution on Coursera — Coursera version of the course
• YouTube Playlist — Playlist of the course lectures

• U.S. National Archives - 23rd Amendment — Official text and history of the 23rd Amendment