"Topics include the heavy British taxation that helped spark the Revolution; the spirit and structure of the Declaration of Independence; the short-lived Articles of Confederation; the drafting and ratification of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and their implications for U.S. government as we know it today."
Dr. Martin Marty, a professor of the history of modern Christianity at the University of Chicago, and Leonard Levy, editor of The Encyclopedia of the American Constitution and a professor of humanities and history at the Claremont Graduate School in California, examine the legality of school prayer. The program also explores the issues of religious symbols on municipal property as well as tax-exempt status for religious institutions.
"At last, the federal convention has begun! Eleven days late, in the middle of a downpour, a quorum of 29 delegates from seven states are finally getting down to business in Philadelphia… This is the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and Emmy award-winning journalist Bill Moyers is reporting the story. Filmed at Independence Hall and filled with historical images and passages from the diaries, letters, and records of the Framers themselves, this two-part set is an indispensable tool for teaching the Constitution."
