Live at the National Constitution Center

Live at the National Constitution Center

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.

  1. 4 DAYS AGO

    The 14th Amendment and the History of Reconstruction

    The National Constitution Center and the Federal Judicial Center convene leading historians for conversations on Reconstruction and the Constitution. Pamela Brandwein of the University of Michigan, Sherrilyn Ifill of Howard University School of Law, and Ilan Wurman of the University of Minnesota Law School explore the 14th Amendment and the history of Reconstruction. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program is presented in partnership with the Federal Judicial Center. Resources Ilan Wurman, The Second Founding: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Amendment (2020) Pamela Brandwein, Rethinking the Judicial Settlement of Reconstruction (2011) Sherrilyn Ifill, “Why are U.S. courts afraid of the 14th Amendment? Because it’s radical,” The Washington Post (Nov. 23, 2023) Sherrilyn Ifill, “Yes, this is America: Why I’m Creating the 14th Amendment Center for Law and Democracy,” Substack (July 7, 2023) 14th Amendment Title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Bill of 1866 The Reconstruction Amendments Brown v. Board of Education Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at programs@constitutioncenter.org Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

    1h 2m
  2. JAN 28

    My Fellow Americans: Presidents and Their Inaugural Addresses

    The day after the 2025 presidential inauguration, leading presidential historians and contributors to the recently published compendium My Fellow Americans: Presidents and Their Inaugural Addresses, Michael Gerhardt, Kate Masur, and Ted Widmer, reflect on inaugural addresses throughout history and how they relate to a president’s legacy. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources:  Yuvraj Singh and Ted Widmer, My Fellow Americans: Presidents and Their Inaugural Addresses (2024)  Martin Van Buren, Inaugural Address (March 4, 1837)  Donald Trump, Second Inaugural Address (Jan. 20, 2025)  Andrew Jackson, First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1829)  Andrew Jackson, Second Inaugural Address (March 4, 1833)  Grover Cleveland, Second Inaugural Address (March 4, 1893)  Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1861)  Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (March 4, 1865)  Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1933)  John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address (Jan. 20, 1961)  Joe Biden, Inaugural Address (Jan. 20, 2021)  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at programs@constitutioncenter.org Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

    1h 1m
  3. 12/17/2024

    The Life and Constitutional Legacy of Gouverneur Morris

    Melanie Randolph Miller, editor of the Gouverneur Morris Papers: Diaries Project; Dennis Rasmussen, author of The Constitution’s Penman: Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of America’s Basic Charter; and William Treanor, dean of Georgetown Law explore the fantastic life and constitutional legacy of Gouverneur Morris: Founding Father, key member of the Committee of Style, and opponent of slavery. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources Dennis C. Rasmussen, The Constitution’s Penman: Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of America’s Basic Charter, (2023) William M. Treanor, Gouverneur Morris and the Drafting of the Federalist Constitution, (2023) William M. Treanor, The Case of the Dishonest Scrivener: Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of the Federalist Constitution, (2021) Melanie Randolph Miller, An Incautious Man: The Life of Gouveneur Morris, (2008) Gouverneur Morris Papers The U.S. Constitution: Preamble The Federalist Papers The Constitutional Convention of 1787: A Revolution in Government Gouverneur Morris, "Slavery and Representation," (Aug. 8, 1787) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at programs@constitutioncenter.org Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

    58 min
  4. 12/10/2024

    How Religious Were the Founders?

    In this episode, We explore religious liberty and the founders with Jane Calvert, author of Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson, Vincent Phillip Muñoz, author of Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses, and Thomas Kidd, author of God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution.  Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.  Resources The First Amendment, National Constitution Center exhibit Jane E. Calvert, Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson (2024) Thomas Kidd, Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh (2022) Vincent Phillip Muñoz, Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses (2022) Thomas Kidd, God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution (2010) Vincent Phillip Muñoz , God and the Founders: Madison, Washington, and Jefferson (2009) Letter From George Washington to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, (August 18, 1790) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at programs@constitutioncenter.org Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

    1h 4m
  5. 11/12/2024

    Native Americans and the Supreme Court

    In celebration of Native American Heritage month, Keith Richotte Jr., author of the forthcoming book, The Worst Trickster Story Ever Told: Native America, the Supreme Court, and the U.S. Constitution and Matthew L.M. Fletcher of the University of Michigan discuss Native American history and law through the stories of landmark Supreme Court cases. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources:  Matthew L.M. Fletcher, The Ghost Road: Anishinaabe Responses to Indian Hating (2020) Keith Richotte Jr., The Worst Trickster Story Ever Told: Native America, the Supreme Court, and the U.S. Constitution (forthcoming 2025) United States v. Kagama (1886) United States v. Lara (2004) Matthew L.M. Fletcher, “Muskrat Textualism,” Northwestern Law Review, Jan. 16, 2022. McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020) Ex Parte Crow Dog (1883) Major Crimes Act Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe (1978) Montana v. United States (1981) Indian Civil Rights Act Duro v. Reina (1990) Haaland v. Brackeen (2023) Turtle Talk Blog Worcester v. Georgia (1832) Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta (2022) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcasts@constitutioncenter.org Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

    58 min
  6. 11/05/2024

    Electing the President: The Popular Vote vs. The Electoral College

    On the eve of the 2024 presidential election, join Jesse Wegman, author of Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College, and professor Robert Hardaway, author of Saving the Electoral College: Why the National Popular Vote Would Undermine Democracy, for a program examining the history and current debate over the Electoral College. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources:  Robert Hardaway, Saving the Electoral College Why the National Popular Vote Would Undermine Democracy (2019)  Jesse Wegman, Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College (2020)  Electoral College, Article II, Section 1, Clauses 2 and 3, Interactive Constitution  National Popular Vote  Ranked Choice Voting  Article I, Section III, The Senate, Interactive Constitution  Cass Sunstein, “On Jan. 6, Will Vice President Harris Certify the Election?,” Wall Street Journal, Oct. 25, 2024  Gary Lawson and Jack Beerman, “Congressional Meddling In Presidential Elections: Still Unconstitutional After All These Years; A Comment On Sunstein,” April 2023  “The Very Real Scenario Where Trump Loses and Takes Power Anyway,” Politico, Oct. 20, 2024  Moore v. Harper (2023) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcasts@constitutioncenter.org Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

    59 min
4.6
out of 5
136 Ratings

About

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.

More From National Constitution Ctr

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada