Strict Constructionism

You've probably heard variations on the term "strict constructionism," typically when a politician calls himself a "strict constructionist." But what, precisely, do these terms mean? Do they provide a roadmap to interpreting the Constitution? Or are they just labels that - strictly speaking - don't mean much?

It turns out that the answer is not so simple. Indeed, over the past couple of centuries, "strict constructionism" has meant different things at different times and to different people. Good thing that we've got Joe Lane, Chair of the Political Science Department at Emory & Henry College, to explain it all to us.