The following podcast is a feature of “Constitution Day 2020” at South Georgia State College. As a result of the pandemic, the different elements of the event are presented in a manner consistent with safety and social distancing. The South Georgia College website (http://www.sgsc.edu) contains a webpage with more information on the displays for Constitution Day that appear physically on both the Douglas and Waycross campuses.

This podcast is a presentation of Dr. Rick Reiman, Professor of History. The title, “The Constitution in Context” refers to the fact that the Constitution is a living document that rises or falls on its success in meeting challenges completely unanticipated by its framers. One of the most challenging times for the Constitution was the period of the 1790s, the first decade of our national life under the Constitution. The podcast looks at how two political parties emerged, neither considering the other illegitimate, and clashing in their respective interpretations of the meaning of the Constitution. The fact that the framers included not a single word about parties in the Constitution and regarded them as a baneful influence further ratcheted up the tension and danger of this party conflict to the survival of the Republic. The nation passed the test–then. But the Constitution will forever remain challenged, tested by the changing conflicts of each generation of Americans.