Consider the Constitution

The Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution

Consider the Constitution is a podcast from the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier. The show provides insight into constitutional issues that directly affect every American. Hosted by Dr. Katie Crawford-Lackey the podcast features interviews with constitutional scholars, policy and subject matter experts, heritage professionals, and legal practitioners.

  1. -5 ДН.

    Women and the Constitution

    When the Constitution was drafted in 1787, women weren't explicitly excluded — they were simply not addressed. Dr. Catherine Allgor, historian and former President of the Massachusetts Historical Society, joins host Dr. Katie Crawford Lackey at Montpelier to unpack what that silence actually meant — and why it wasn't accidental. At the center of the conversation is a word every listener will want to know: coverture. The legal doctrine that erased a woman's identity at marriage — subsuming her personhood, her property, her wages, even her children into her husband — was never abolished by the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. Dr. Allgor traces coverture from the founding era through Abigail Adams's famous "Remember the Ladies" letter, the suffrage movement, and the ERA debate, arguing that its legacy is still very much alive today. A bracing, eye-opening conversation for the 250th anniversary year — and a reminder that the republican experiment is still a work in progress. This episode is supported in part by the Virginia Law Foundation.

    34 мин.

  2. 8 АПР.

    Promises to Keep: Madison, Self-Government, and the Citizen's Responsibility

    This episode is part of a five-part miniseries examining James Madison's role in the American Revolution and the founding of the United States. Part of Montpelier's commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American independence, this series is funded by a grant from the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission in partnership with Virginia Humanities. What does it actually take to sustain a republic — not just to build one, but to keep it alive across generations? In this episode, part of a special five-part miniseries commemorating America's 250th anniversary, Dr. Katie Crawford-Lackey speaks with Professor Colleen Sheehan of Arizona State University, one of the foremost scholars of James Madison's political thought. Drawing on her books The Mind of James Madison and James Madison and the Spirit of Republican Self-Government, Professor Sheehan explains why Madison believed the greatest threat to the republic wasn't foreign invasion or economic collapse, but something far more internal — the capacity of citizens to deliberate well, check their own impulses, and honor what Madison called a "debt of protection" we owe to one another. From the Federalist Papers to Robert Frost, this conversation illuminates why Madison remains essential to understanding what self-government actually demands of us — and what the 250th anniversary asks of us today.

    27 мин.

  3. 25 МАР.

    The Supreme Court's Credibility

    The Supreme Court has no army, no budget, and no way to enforce its own rulings. Its power rests entirely on the credibility of its words. Attorney and author Peter Cohen joins Dr. Katie Crawford Lackey to explore what happens when you go straight to the source — reading the justices' opinions directly rather than relying on outside interpretation. Drawing on his book In the Supreme Court's Own Words, Cohen walks through two centuries of landmark decisions in which the court checked presidential power, explains why dissenting opinions like Justice Harlan's in Plessy v. Ferguson can become the law of the land decades later, and makes the case that Supreme Court decisions are far more accessible than most people assume. From Lincoln and habeas corpus to Truman and the steel mills to the constitutional questions playing out in real time today, this conversation is a reminder that the framers feared monarchy — and built a system designed to prevent it.  This episode is supported in part by the Virginia Law Foundation.

    32 мин.

  4. 11 МАР.

    Madison's Revolutionary Legacy: From Virginia Rights to the War of 1812

    James Madison's participation in the American Revolution shaped not only his political philosophy but his entire approach to governance. In this episode, Dr. Katie Crawford Lackey sits down with Dr. Jay Cost to explore how Madison's revolutionary experiences—from his work on Virginia's Declaration of Rights at age 25 to his presidency during the War of 1812—reveal a leader committed to proving that self-government could work. Dr. Cost explains how Madison viewed the Revolution as an opportunity for fundamental reform based on liberal principles, and how his deep distrust of British authority influenced his diplomatic and military decisions decades later. The conversation illuminates Madison's unique talent for translating revolutionary ideals into practical political action, including his pragmatic leadership in creating the Bill of Rights and his determination to secure American sovereignty through what he saw as a "second war for independence."

    28 мин.

  5. 25 ФЕВР.

    The Foundation of Legislative Politics

    When Congress can't pass laws, is the problem in the Constitution—or in the rules that govern how legislators actually do their work? In this episode, Dr. Katie Crawford-Lackey welcomes back Dr. Lauren Bell to discuss her new book, Transatlantic Majoritarianism: How Murder, Migration and Modernity Transformed 19th Century Legislatures. Dr. Bell reveals how 19th-century lawmakers in both the United States and Britain wrestled with a fundamental democratic dilemma: how to allow majority rule without descending into chaos or obstruction. From the "vanishing quorum" that paralyzed the House of Representatives to Irish members weaponizing parliamentary procedure in the House of Commons, Bell traces the parallel crises that forced both nations to rethink legislative power. This episode is supported in part by the Virginia Law Foundation.

    35 мин.

  6. 11 ФЕВР.

    Loyalists, Patriots, and the Reality of Revolution

    This episode is part of a special five-part miniseries examining James Madison's role in the American Revolution and the founding of the United States. As part of Montpelier's commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American independence, this series is funded by a grant from the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission, in partnership with Virginia Humanities. Dr. Katie Crawford Lackey sits down with historian Dr. Jim Ambuske to explore the complicated landscape of Revolutionary Virginia. Rather than a simple Patriots-versus-British narrative, the American Revolution was fundamentally a civil war that divided neighbors, families, and communities. Discover how religion, economics, and geography shaped whether Virginians supported independence or remained loyal to the Crown. Learn how enslaved people, indigenous nations, and women navigated this period of upheaval, making strategic choices amid profound danger and opportunity. From Scottish merchants in Norfolk to Madison's concerns about slave conspiracies, from the calculations of the Haudenosaunee to women asserting new political rights, this episode reveals the messy, perilous reality behind the founding.

    36 мин.

  7. 28 ЯНВ.

    Forging the Revolution: Montpelier's Blacksmith Shop and the Hidden Network of the American War

    What can 500 pounds of slag reveal about the American Revolution? In this episode, Dr. Katie Crawford-Lackey talks with Dr. Matt Reeves, Montpelier's Director of Archaeology, about the blacksmith shop that powered James Madison Sr.'s plantation during the Revolutionary War. Through archaeological evidence and surviving ledger books, they uncover a regional network of production, the expertise of enslaved artisans like Moses, and how this industrial operation supplied the Continental Army—while transforming the economic and social landscape of Revolutionary Virginia.

    28 мин.

  8. 14 ЯНВ.

    Young Madison and the Founding Years

    This episode launches a special five-part miniseries examining James Madison's role in the American Revolution and the founding of the United States. Part of Montpelier's commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American independence, this series is funded by a grant from the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission in partnership with Virginia Humanities. Dr. Katie Crawford Lackey talks with Dr. Lynn Uzzell about Madison's formative years—from his education at the College of New Jersey (Princeton) under John Witherspoon to his early political activism in 1770s Virginia. The conversation explores how Madison's exposure to Scottish Enlightenment philosophy and religious diversity shaped his lifelong commitment to freedom of conscience. At just 25 years old, Madison contributed critical language to Virginia's 1776 Declaration of Rights, replacing "toleration" with "free exercise of religion"—phrasing that would later appear in the First Amendment. The episode traces Madison's service during the Revolutionary War through the Continental Congress and his growing recognition of the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation, setting the stage for his pivotal role at the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

    31 мин.
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Consider the Constitution is a podcast from the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier. The show provides insight into constitutional issues that directly affect every American. Hosted by Dr. Katie Crawford-Lackey the podcast features interviews with constitutional scholars, policy and subject matter experts, heritage professionals, and legal practitioners.

Информация

  • Автор
    The Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution
  • Годы выхода
    2023 - 2026
  • Выпуски
    61
  • Ограничения
    Без ненормативной лексики
  • Авторские права
    © 2026 Consider the Constitution
  • Сайт подкаста
    Consider the Constitution

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