Description: Since the outset of our course, we have been tracking how our knowledge of the U.S. Constitution compares to those around us –our peers, our family and friends, and the nation as a whole. It is impossible to conclude from where most people glean their understanding (or misunderstanding) of constitutional law, but every so often, a cultural tornado sweeps the land and leaves a lasting impact on public knowledge. If a national survey about Alexander Hamilton had been distributed several years ago, the American public would have likely performed even worse than they did on the First Amendment and branches of government questions we have looked at in our first mini lesson (yikes). Then came Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton: An American Musical in 2015 (now available on Disney+) and suddenly there is a nation of experts on a historically overshadowed Founding Father. Unfortunately, one of Alexander Hamilton’s most contentious quotes was left out of the musical. In Federalist No. 78, he stated that the U.S. Supreme Court will be the feeblest of the branches because it possesses “neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment.” One could argue that Hamilton’s statement rings true today; after all, many empirical legal scholars have shown that the Supreme Court is often restricted in its judicial decision-making by external factors1–whether that be another branch of government, the public, or both. Do you agree that Supreme Court Justices are overly influenced by external factors? Is this necessarily a sign of weakness?Or, conversely, should the Court’s decisions (at least to some degree) reflect the will of Congress, the President, the public, and/or other external factors?
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