The Espionage Act of 1917, one of the most contentious statutes relating to the First Amendment, is back in the news following the indictment of President Donald Trump for mishandling classified documents. What is the Espionage Act and how has it been used over time? Legal scholar Heidi Kitrosser, author of Reclaiming Accountability: Transparency, Executive Power, and the U.S. Constitution, and political historian Sam Lebovic, author of State of Silence: The Espionage Act and the Rise of America’s Secrecy Regime, explore the origins, history, and constitutional legacy of this World War I-era law. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

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Political scientists Frances Lee of Princeton University, Steven Levitsky of Harvard University and coauthor of Tyranny of the Minority, and Kurt Weyland of the University of Texas at Austin and author of Democracy's Resilience to Populism's Threat, explore some of the new theories and approaches to the challenges facing American democracy in 2023 and beyond, including proposed solutions. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

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New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie and political scientist Melvin Rogers, author of The Darkened Light of Faith: Race, Democracy, and Freedom in African American Political Thought, explore the ways key African American intellectuals and artists—from David Walker, Frederick Douglass, and W.E.B. Du Bois to Billie Holiday and James Baldwin—reimagined U.S. democracy. Thomas Donnelly, chief content officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates.

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The election of 1800 was the first hotly contested partisan election in American history. Still, peaceful transfers of power continued for the next two centuries. But how? Carol Berkin, author of A Sovereign People: The Crises of the 1790s and the Birth of American Nationalism, and H.W. Brands, author of Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, Adams, and the Brawling Birth of American Politics, join for an Election Day program to explore political partisanship and nationalism in early America. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

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Historians Ned Blackhawk and Brenda Child join for a conversation on Blackhawk’s national bestseller, The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History—a sweeping retelling of American history. They explore five centuries of U.S. history to shed light on the central role Indigenous peoples have played in shaping our nation’s narrative. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

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The Center for Constitutional Design at Arizona State University and the National Constitution Center present a discussion exploring how the institution of the modern presidency has evolved through the lens of studying the constitutional visions and approaches to executive power of some of America’s past presidents. Join presidency experts Sidney Milkis and Barbara Perry of the University of Virginia’s Miller Center and Stephen Knott of Ashland University for this conversation moderated by National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen.

This program is presented in partnership with the Center for Constitutional Design at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

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Prize-winning historians Kate Masur, author of Until Justice Be Done: America’s First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction, and Dylan Penningroth, author of the new book Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights, explore the central role of African Americans in the struggle for justice and equality long before the social movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

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New York Times bestselling author Cass Sunstein unveils his new book, How to Interpret the Constitution—a citizen’s guide to the rival approaches of originalism and living constitutionalism. Sunstein is joined by leading constitutional expert Philip Bobbitt of Columbia Law School to discuss the current controversies surrounding constitutional interpretation and provide their takes on the competing methodologies. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Participants

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How did America’s founders view religious liberty? And what does it mean today? Constitutional law experts Marci Hamilton, author of God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty, and Michael McConnell, co-author of Agreeing to Disagree: How the Establishment Clause Protects Religious Diversity and Freedom of Conscience, join for a special Constitution Day discussion to celebrate the opening of the Center’s new First Amendment gallery. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

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You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

The National Constitution Center, in partnership with a coalition of leading free speech organizations, is convened a National First Amendment Summit on September 13, 2023 to discuss the increasing threats to freedom of expression and to celebrate the opening of the Center's new First Amendment gallery.

This program is presented in partnership with the Freedom Forum, FIRE, the First Amendment Watch at NYU, PEN America, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Keynote: A Conversation with Salman Rushdie 

The keynote panel of the event, a conversation with author and free speech advocate Salman Rushdie about the importance of free speech in a democratic society and the forces of censorship that imperil its existence, was moderated by Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America.

Panel 1: The Origins of the First Amendment and Its Central Role in Democracy

Probing the origins of the First Amendment and its critical role as a check on the government

Panel 2: The First Amendment in the Courts

Exploring the current legal controversies filling the daily headlines—from defamation to book banning to threatening language

Panel 3: The First Amendment on Campus and Online

Examining the increasing conflicts involving free speech on campuses and online in an age of social media, artificial intelligence, and other new technologies

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