Programs Offered by Richard A. Hesse
(all supported by the New Hampshire Humanities Council)
Civil Liberties After 9/11
As the federal government continues to address new national security
issues in the wake of September 11, 2001, the uneasy balance between
security and civil liberties is receiving renewed attention. This
lecture reviews government reactions to past national security crises
and explores the important trade–offs and considerations facing
citizens and non–citizens alike.
Ethics, Morals, and the Law
Philosophy of law presents, inter alia, two broad inquiries: the
fundamental nature of law and how the law can be evaluated. This
program explores the relationship between law and social norms with
attention to the moral issues the law generates. Contemporary items
from the news will be used to focus discussion on moral judgments and
the relevance of morality to human welfare, legal rights, justice, and
social responsibility. In the process, an effort is made to
distinguish religion from moral philosophy.
Free Speech in a Free Society
Members of our society hold widely
differing views on appropriate public speech. The message alarms
some while others are bothered by the choice of language. The
program explores the extent to which the majority view, expressed in
the law, is effected by the wide–spread belief that we enjoy the right
of "free speech" and the scope of that constitutional right as it is
understood in the law. Clashes between individual expression and
society's concerns are evaluated through examples ranging from
efforts to prohibit "adult" bookstores and "obscene" Tee shirts to
efforts to control content in the mass media. Included are the
implications of dealing with the Internet and other global media.
A Conversation with John Marshall: A Living History Presentation
The year is 1835. The place is Washington, D.C. John Marshall has been the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1801. Throughout the years of his public service he has fought, literally and figuratively, to establish a strong national government and an independent federal judiciary. He has been opposed in those efforts by powerful politicians including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe and Andrew Jackson. Although his opponents controlled the Congress and the White House for all but four years of Marshall's tenure on the Court, Marshall prevailed in advancing his views on the law and the Constitution. Marshall reflects on his life and explains his views as well as his fears for the future of the country.
John Marshall: Definer of A Nation
John Marshall is almost universally
recognized as the greatest chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and is
ranked among 12 others as the "great" justices of the Court. That
reputation is based on his development of constitutional doctrine and
the role of the court in the federal system. He was under
constant attack by Thomas Jefferson and the radical Jeffersonians at a
time when his enemies controlled the Congress and the White
House. His major modern biographer called him the "Definer of A
Nation." The program reviews Marshall's life and explains his
thinking, and hence the foundation for our traditions of a
constitutional court independent from political forces.
Religion in Public Life: Then and Now
A common myth is that this country was
founded on religious freedom. A parallel misunderstanding is that the
government of this country was based on fixed religious principles.
This program explores the attitudes and practices toward religion in
government in the colonies prior to the framing of the Bill of Rights
and proceeds to track developments to the modern era. That learning is
then applied to modern problems of church/state relations using current
examples of conflict.
The U.S. Supreme Court and How It Works
Over the past century, the U.S. Supreme
Court has become a major influence on the lives of those who fall
within its reach. This program explains how the Court came to be a
powerful force in modern society, how its members are chosen, and how
it operates. The audience will be encouraged to use familiar examples
of historical and contemporary debates over social policy to
participate in a discussion of this peculiarly "anti–democratic"
institution.
Professor Emeritus Richard Hesse moderated a Forum on the First Amendment, on 9/14/06, organized in conjunction with the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications, Manchester and Franklin Pierce College, Rindge.
