Historians and biographers provide a historical look at some of America’s earliest justices—from John Jay, the first chief justice, to George Washington’s nephew Bushrod Washington and Pennsylvania Founding Father James Wilson. Join Gerard Magliocca, author of Washington’s Heir: The Life of Justice Bushrod Washington, Supreme Court historian Maeva Marcus of George Washington University Law School, and Walter Stahr, author of John Jay: Founding Father and Salmon P. Chase: Lincoln’s Vital Rival, as they discuss the impact of these early justices on American history. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
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America’s Early Justices and How They Shaped the Supreme Court

Live constitutional conversations and debates featuring leading historians, journalists, scholars, and public officials hosted at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and across America. To watch National Constitution Center Town Halls live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs at constitutioncenter.org/townhall. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube at YouTube.com/ConstitutionCenter.

History

Society & Culture

News

Michael Gerhardt, author of the new book FDR’s Mentors: Navigating the Path to Greatness, and Andrew Busch, author of Reagan's Victory: The Presidential Election of 1980 and the Rise of the Right, join Jeffrey Rosen to explore the pivotal elections of 1932 and 1980. They compare the transformative presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, and trace how founding-era debates between Hamilton and Jefferson over the scope of federal and executive power re-emerged during the New Deal and Reagan Revolution. This program originally streamed live on April 16, 2024. 
 
Resources: 

Michael J. Gerhardt, FDR’s Mentors: Navigating the Path to Greatness (2024) 

Andrew E. Busch, Ronald Reagan and the Politics of Freedom (2001) 

Andrew E. Busch, Reagan's Victory: The Presidential Election of 1980 and the Rise of the Right (2005) 

Andrew E. Busch, The Constitution on the Campaign Trail: The Surprising Political Career of America’s Founding Document (2007) 


Friedrich Hayek, “The Road to Serfdom,” Teaching American History (May 21, 2020) 

Ronald Reagan, Remarks to Commonwealth Club members on March 4, 1983, Reagan Library (July 19, 2018) 

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Undelivered Address Prepared for Jefferson Day, The American Presidency Project 

 

Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.  
Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #AmericasTownHall
Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. 
You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

America’s Most Consequential Elections: From FDR to Reagan

Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, joins Ronald Collins, author of Tragedy on Trial: The Story of the Infamous Emmett Till Murder Trial, to discuss the tragedy of Emmett Till’s murder, the shocking story of the trial that followed, and its impact on the Civil Rights Movement. Thomas Donnelly, chief content officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Additional Resources

Ronald K. L. Collins, Tragedy on Trial: The Story of the Infamous Emmett Till Murder Trial (2024)


H.R.55 - Emmett Till Antilynching Act

President Joseph Biden,Remarks by President at Signing of H.R. 55 (March 29, 2022)

Joy-Ann Reid, Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America (2024)


Valerie Russ, “A former Temple U law professor speaks about how the Emmett Till murder trial shaped the Civil Rights Movement," The Philadelphia Inquirer (April 11, 2024)

Liz Fields, “The story behind Nina Simone’s protest song, 'Mississippi Goddam,'” PBS (Jan. 14, 2021)

Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley, National Monument


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Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #AmericasTownHall
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The Legacy of Emmett Till: From Tragedy to Activism

On Thursday March 28 at the NCC, Jeffrey Rosen sat down with Justice Stephen Breyer to discuss his new book, Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism. Justice Breyer deconstructs the textualist philosophy of the current Supreme Court’s majority and makes the case for a better way to interpret the Constitution based on pragmatism.
 
Resources
Justice Stephen Breyer, Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism (2024)
 
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. 
Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #AmericasTownHall
Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. 
You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

Justice Stephen Breyer on Reading the Constitution

Acclaimed Lincoln historians Sidney Blumenthal, author of the three-volume The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, and Harold Holzer, author of the new book Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration, assess Lincoln’s life and legacy to unveil remarkable similarities between the 19th century and today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Additional Resources

Harold Holzer, Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration


Sidney Blumenthal, Wrestling With His Angel: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. II, 1849-1856


Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address (1860, February 27)

Harold Holzer, Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President



Stay Connected and Learn More
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. 
Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #AmericasTownHall
Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly.
Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

Lincoln’s Lessons: Then and Now

Richard Hasen, author of A Real Right to Vote, Sarah Isgur, senior editor of The Dispatch, and Lawrence Lessig, author of How to Steal a Presidential Election, provide a health check on the state of American democracy, and look ahead to potential areas of vulnerability in the run-up to the 2024 election. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Additional Resources

Richard L. Hasen, A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy


Lawrence Lessig and Matthew Seligman, How to Steal a Presidential Election


Jeffrey Rosen, “The Supreme Court Says States Can’t Keep Trump Off the Ballot," We the People, National Constitution Center

Trump v. Anderson (2024)

Sarah Isgur and David French,“Indictment Watch: The Supreme Court Decides Whether States Can Disqualify Trump,” Advisory Opinions, The Dispatch


Richard L. Hasen, “The Supreme Court Just Delivered a Rare Self-Own for John Roberts,” Slate (March 5, 2023)

Conference Report, “Carter-Baker Commission: 16 Years Later” (2021)


Trump v. Anderson, Amicus brief of Richard L. Hasen, Edward Foley and Ben Ginsburg



Stay Connected and Learn More
Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #AmericasTownHall
Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. 
Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

America’s Early Justices and How They Shaped the Supreme Court

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