THE U.S. BILL OF RIGHTS: AN ENDURING LEGACY

Burton Atkins

DESCRIPTION: Drafted largely by James Madison in 1789, and ratified as the first ten amendments to the Constitution in 1791, the Bill of Rights has served as the bedrock of American democracy and freedom. This lecture will review the history of the Bill of Rights adoption, and survey how the Supreme Court has interpreted the meaning of our rights and liberties since amendments One through Ten became part of our Constitution.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Dr. Burton Atkins is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Florida State University (FSU) and currently teaches political science at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). He also serves on the faculties at Virginia Tech and Penn State Universities. In his 35-year career at FSU, Dr. Atkins taught a variety of courses on, and wrote extensively about, constitutional law and U.S. politics; served as chair of the Political Science department; lived in London from 1992 to 1997 while serving as the Director of FSU’s London Study Center; and from 1997 until his retirement in 2006, served as Director of the FSU International Affairs Program. An avid supporter of international education, Dr. Atkins has organized and led study semesters abroad to London, Brussels and Paris for FSU and FAU.