THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY:
THE MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS

Burton Atkins

DESCRIPTION: For over 200 years the Constitution has served as the bedrock of American democracy and it has been a great symbol of the American experiment. Despite its important role in guiding our law and politics, there are several parts of our Constitution that contradict Democratic assumptions and principles. In this one-time lecture, we will draw upon the Constitution itself, and Supreme Court decisions that have interpreted the meaning of our founding document, to examine some of the myths and realities of our constitutional system. This lecture will reveal a surprisingly large number of myths and misconceptions.


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.