Harper's Academy U.S. History and American Literature

Class, I hope you enjoyed our visit with Forressa Harrison today, as well as your exposure to Spoken Word poetry. Here's a little history of Spoken Word poetry: Amercian Poet Marc Smith is credited with starting the poetry slam in Novemeber of 1984. In 1990, the first National Poetry Slam took place in Fort Mason, San Francisco. So, this is an American literary movement, much in line with some of our other movements around the same time, like hiphop and rap. Notice the similarities with the way Spoken Word is constructed. Spoken word relies on a heavy use of rhythm, improvisation, word play, and slang. Spoken Word is writing that is meant to be read aloud and performed.  Next, we spent some time reviewing the War of 1812, some of Jefferson's idiosyncracies, and a very important court case: Marbury vs. Madison. I have a separate post on this with your assignment that is due in two weeks, on Halloween. But this topic of the effects of a powerful judicial review continues to dom...

Check out this link and read through this list of some of the most famous Supreme Court rulings in history. We will be discussing some of these cases in our debates. Some you may agree with. Some you will not. What I'd like for you to keep in mind here is how the Marbury vs. Madison ruling established a much more powerful Supreme Court than the Founding Fathers likely would have desired. Which of these decisions do you consider the most important? Do you think the enormous power and influence the Supreme Court wields is what the Founding Fathers envisioned? Go back and review the Constitution. What does it say about the Judicial branch? Write a response of at least 3 paragraphs, using at least two of the listed court cases to support your position. You must also include at least one quote from the Constitution to support your claim. I'd suggest you look at the article discussing the Judicial branch for more credibility. This assignment is due October 31st.