We the People

For or Against Constitutional Originalism?

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Jonathan Gienapp of Stanford University and Stephen Sachs of Harvard Law School join Chief Scholar Thomas Donnelly to discuss Gienapp’s new book, Against Constitutional Originalism: A Historical Critique. They review the history of originalism and debate the role of originalism in constitutional interpretation today. This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series on October 8, 2024. 


Resources: 
  • Jonathan Gienapp, “Against Constitutional Originalism: A Historical Critique” (2024) 
  • Stephen Sachs and Will Baude, “Originalism and the Law of the Past” (Law and History Review, 2019) 
  • Michael Stokes Paulsen and Vasen Kesavan, “Is West Virginia Unconstitutional?” (90 Cal L. Rev. 291, 2002) 
  • William Baude, Jud Campbell, and Stephen Sachs, “General Law and the Fourteenth Amendment” (76 Stanford L. Rev 1185, 2024) 
  • Jud Campbell, “Four Views of the Nature of the Union” (47 Harvard J. Law & Public Policy 2, 2024) 
  • Fletcher v. Peck (1810) 
  • District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) 
  • United States v. Rahimi (2024) 


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      We the PeopleBy National Constitution Center