As the U.S. Supreme Court considers a key case on affirmative action, the National Constitution Center and the University of Pennsylvania’s Journal of Constitutional Law convene experts to discuss this important subject as part of the Journal’s annual law symposium. Join Jin Hee Lee of the Legal Defense Fund and Ilan Wurman of Arizona State University for a conversation addressing how the history and original meaning of the 14th Amendment informs the debate about whether the Constitution is colorblind. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. 

This program is presented in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law as part of their symposium on "The History, Development, and Future of the 14th Amendment."

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This month, we hosted a conversation about FDR and the Transformation of the Supreme Court. Legal historian Laura Kalman, author of FDR’s Gambit: The Court Packing Fight and the Rise of Legal Liberalism; Ken Kersch, professor of political science at Boston College and author of Conservatives and the Constitution; and Jeff Shesol, author of Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court, joined Jeffrey Rosen to discuss Franklin D. Roosevelt’s constitutional legacy, the court packing fight, and how his Supreme Court appointees transformed America.

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The Honorable Jeffrey Sutton, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, joins the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown, senior judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, for a discussion on McKeown’s new book, Citizen Justice: The Environmental Legacy of William O. Douglas—Public Advocate and Conservation Champion, and the constitutional legacy of U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, one of the court’s longest serving justices. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

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How did Marcus Tullius Cicero, a Roman statesman and philosopher, influence the Founding generation, the Constitution, and American political thought? Join Scott Nelson, author of Cicero, Politics, and the 21st Century; Benjamin Straumann, author of Crisis and Constitutionalism: Roman Political Thought from the Fall of the Republic to the Age of Revolution; and Caroline Winterer, author of The Culture of Classicism: Ancient Greece and Rome in American Intellectual Life, 1780-1910, for a conversation exploring the political ideas of Cicero, his impact on America, and what we can learn from him today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.



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For Native American Heritage Month, the National Constitution Center presents a discussion with historians H.W. Brands, author of The Last Campaign: Sherman, Geronimo and the War for America; Lori Daggar, author of Cultivating Empire: Capitalism, Philanthropy, and the Negotiation of American Imperialism in Indian Country; and Lindsay Robertson, author of Conquest by Law: How the Discovery of America Dispossessed Indigenous Peoples of Their Lands, for a historical overview of U.S. westward expansion, manifest destiny, and the impact on native peoples and tribes. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

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Historians Andrew Browning, author of Schools for Statesmen: The Divergent Educations of the Constitutional Framers; Nancy Isenberg, author of Madison and Jefferson; and Thomas Kidd, author of Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh, explore Thomas Jefferson’s life and legacy through the lens of his own education and what he read—and how those influences shaped the American idea. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

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To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube. You can find transcripts for every episode in our Media Library.

To conclude the National Constitution Center’s week-long celebration of Constitution Day and to celebrate the launch of our Constitution 101 course, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer (Ret.) joined Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the NCC, for a private conversation with middle and high school students about the importance of civics education in America. Justice Breyer recently joined Justice Neil Gorsuch as honorary co-chair of the National Constitution Center.

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Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube. You can find transcripts for every episode in our Media Library.

With U.S. midterm elections approaching, experts and contributors to the National Constitution Center’s Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy initiative—Edward Foley of The Ohio State University, David French of The Dispatch, and Ilya Somin of the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University and the Cato Institute—discuss election integrity, voting rights, and proposed election reforms to help bolster democratic guardrails in the United States. Ken Randall, Allison and Dorothy Rouse Dean and George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University, provides introductory remarks. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

This program is presented in partnership with the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School and in conjunction with the National Constitution Center's Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy initiative.

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Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube. You can find transcripts for every episode in our Media Library.

This summer, as a continuation of the National Constitution Center’s Constitution Drafting Project, teams of leading conservative, libertarian, and progressive scholars  convened for a virtual constitutional convention. After debating and deliberating together, they drafted and proposed a series of amendments to the Constitution. In this episode, we share the presentation that the team leaders made, discussing the five amendments they all agreed upon. Caroline Fredrickson, senior fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice represented team progressive, Ilan Wurman, associate professor at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, represented team conservative, and Ilya Shapiro, senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, represented team libertarian. Other convention “delegates” included team progressive’s Jamal Greene of Columbia Law School; team libertarian’s Christina Mulligan of Brooklyn Law School and Timothy Sandefur of the Goldwater Institute; and team conservative’s  Robert George of Princeton University, Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School, and Colleen Sheehan of Arizona State University. 

This program is presented in conjunction with the National Constitution Center’s Constitution Drafting Project.

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To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube. You can find transcripts for every episode in our Media Library.

September 17 is Constitution Day in the U.S., celebrating the day that members of the Constitutional Convention signed the document in Philadelphia in 1787.

As a part of the National Constitution Center’s celebrations, we hosted a panel called “Originalism: A Matter of Interpretation.”

Emily Bazelon of The New York Times Magazine, Rich Lowry of the National Review, Steven Mazie of The Economist, and Ilan Wurman of Arizona State University joined host Jeffrey Rosen to discuss whether the Constitution should be interpreted according to its original meaning, and if the Supreme Court is consistent in applying principles of originalism in its decisions.

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To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.