This course will focus on the history of the United States Constitution, particularly the process by which the document was written, ratified, and subsequently interpreted. Among the issues that will be addressed in the course are the various factors that served to encourage the Constitutional convention, the ideas and issues that influenced the development of the Constitution, and the ways in which the Constitution has impacted the lives of Americans. Particular emphasis will be given to significant decisions by the United States Supreme Court and ways in which the powers of the Constitution have been expanded or restricted in the two centuries since it was adopted.