Student Q&A with Bradley | America's Written Constitution with Akhil Reed Amar

No federal body reviews old statutes to check whether they are still constitutional. Course teaching assistant Bradley explains what that means for laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Sherman Act. This short bonus session answers two questions submitted by students. The first asks whether any entity routinely reviews federal laws for continuing constitutionality. The answer is no: a statute stays on the books until Congress repeals it or a court strikes it down, and age alone does not make a law unconstitutional. Bradley notes that the reach of a statute can shift as conditions change, most obviously with the expansion of interstate commerce, and that the body already empowered to clear out obsolete laws is Congress itself. The second question asks why the founders thought of America as an island protected by oceans when Canada and Mexico sat on its borders. The answer turns on what those places were in 1788: thinly held outposts of European empires rather than powers with armies of their own. Chapters: 00:00 Do old federal laws stay valid? 01:43 What changes when conditions change 02:20 Canada, Mexico, and the island mentality Learning objectives: After watching, you'll be able to: - Explain why federal statutes remain in force absent repeal or judicial invalidation - Identify how shifts in interstate commerce alter a statute's practical reach - Describe the strategic position of Canada and Mexico at the time of ratification 📺 Watch the full playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCq6-l8oFuvk 🎓 Enroll on Coursera for assessments and a certificate: https://www.coursera.org/learn/written-constitution 🌐 Explore more learning opportunities on Yale Online: https://online.yale.edu/courses/americas-written-constitution