This course provides students with an introduction to the American legal system and to the development of American constitutional law. Historic Supreme Court decisions and legal case studies will be used to develop an in-depth understanding of the historical background and present-day constitutional controversies over such topics as free speech, censorship, abortion, workplace discrimination, affirmative action and the rights of the accused. Practitioners from the fields of law and criminal justice may provide an added dimension to the course. History 553 cannot be substituted for the required 400-level U.S. requirement or the non-U.S. history requirement.