Elizabeth Jo
speaker
2,299 appearances
6 recordings
1 series
first heard Jun 2025
last heard 27 Mar
Elizabeth Jo’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 4 in all, peaking in Mar 2026 with 1.
Appearances
And then thinking to where we are now, you know, Nicole, you and I look at we the people and we see ourselves, right?
And that's kind of the remarkable genius of the document, as as flawed as it is, and as flawed as its interpretations have been.
And so I think part of what's hopeful for me anyway, and and perhaps for you, I'd I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, is that it's that kind of tense, ambiguous open-endedness that has, I think, sustained the constitution and why uh it's still with us today when so many other countries around the world they've gone through many iterations of a founding document.
It's so interesting that you mention Douglas's optimism, particularly about the preamble.
Because one of his famous speeches, of course, about the preamble is in direct reaction to Dred Scott.
Um maybe we should recap for our listeners, you know, what Dred Scott is.
This is the infamous eighteen fifty-seven Supreme Court decision.
І Дред Scott, an enslaved man, sued for his freedom.
On the basis that he had lived in a free territory where slavery was illegal.
And although he his original claim was about the basis for recognizing his free status, by the time his case goes up to the Supreme Court, it's really only one question whether or not Dred Scott is considered a citizen of the United States.
And the United States Supreme Court said no.
In an opinion by Chief Justice Roger Tawney, Tawney says that.
Among the claims or among the reasons why Dred Scott can't be considered a citizen, is this look at look at the preamble.
The constitution's preamble does have these broad words that we've been referring to: we the people.
Could black Americans be part of that political community?
And essentially, what Tani's opinion says is no, we can't take the preamble literally.
We don't take it literally.
We have to see that in fact the constitution refers to the institution of slavery, refers to enslaved people, and therefore.
Black Americans are what he calls people of an inferior order.
And that actually, you know, I'm curious to hear, Nicole, what you think of this because you discussed.
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