The Constitution in Action: Who Shapes Foreign Policy?

History is the chronicle of choices made by actors/agents/protagonists in specific contexts. This simulation places students in the Early Republic and asks them to engage with a fundamental question of Constitutional interpretation faced at that time: Who controls foreign policy, Congress or the President? Students will explore this sweeping question with respect to Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation of 1793 and Jay’s Treaty. By confronting foreign policy issues in historical contexts, students will see that the Constitution, necessarily sparse, did not spell out what should be done in every circumstance. They will also see that constitutional interpretations depended in some measure on politics, with players on both sides of an issue marshaling constitutional arguments to support their positions.