Philadelphia, PA (August 31, 2023) — Today, the National Constitution Center released a lineup of new programming as part of its America’s Town Hall series of constitutional conversations and debates, hosted by the Center’s President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. All programs are free to the public and will be held live online via Zoom and YouTube, and a select number will also be held live and in-person at the Center. The full list of programs, including registration information, is available HERE. All programs are open to the press.
This season’s programming kicks off on September 13 with a special event in conjunction with the opening of the Center’s new First Amendment gallery. The National First Amendment Summit, held in partnership with a coalition of leading free speech organizations, will convene to discuss the increasing threats to freedom of expression in the United States. Author and free-speech advocate Salman Rushdie will engage in a virtual keynote conversation with Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, about the importance of free speech in a democratic society and the forces of censorship that imperil its existence. The program will continue with three panel discussions on the origins of the First Amendment and its central role in democracy, the First Amendment in the courts, and the First Amendment on campus and online. Panelists include Akhil Reed Amar, Floyd Abrams, Bruce Brown, Will Creeley, Jeannie Suk Gersen, Jameel Jaffer, Lyrissa Lidsky, Jacob Mchangama, Stephen Solomon, and Nadine Strossen.
For this year’s Constitution Day celebration on September 18, the Center will host a discussion on the history of religious liberty in America, featuring constitutional law experts Marci Hamilton and Michael McConnell. On Thursday, September 28, bestselling author Cass Sunstein unveils his new book, How to Interpret the Constitution, with leading constitutional expert Philip Bobbitt.
October programming includes two online America’s Town Hall discussions. The Forgotten Years of the Civil Rights Movement features prize-winning historians Kate Masur and Dylan Penningroth as they explore the struggle for justice and equality before the social movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In partnership with Arizona State University’s Center for Constitutional Design, the Center will also host a discussion with presidency experts Stephen Knott, Sidney Milkis, and Barbara Perry exploring the approaches to executive power by America’s modern presidents.
In honor of Native American Heritage Month, historian Ned Blackhawk discusses the central role Indigenous peoples have played in shaping the nation’s narrative. Other November programming includes an Election Day discussion with authors Carol Berkin and H.W. Brands as they explore political partisanship and nationalism in early America, as well as a discussion with columnist Jamelle Bouie and political scientist Melvin Rogers on the ways key African American intellectuals reimagined U.S. democracy.
In December, legal scholar Heidi Kitrosser and political historian Sam Lebovic explore the origins, history, and constitutional legacy of the World War I-era Espionage Act. Authors Joyce Lee Malcolm and Eli Merritt discuss the origins and clashing ideologies during the American Revolution and how the differing opinions between the Loyalists and Patriots continue to shape our understanding of the American identity.
All programs are open to the press. Please RSVP to Moira Bagley Smith or via the program links below.
America’s Town Hall Fall 2023 Programming
National First Amendment Summit
Wednesday, September 13 | Reception 4-5:15 p.m. ET; Program 5:30-8 p.m. ET
Free In Person and Online
The National Constitution Center, in partnership with a coalition of leading free speech organizations, is convening a National First Amendment Summit to discuss the increasing threats to freedom of expression and to celebrate the opening of the Center’s new First Amendment gallery. To lead off the event, author and free-speech advocate Salman Rushdie will engage in a virtual keynote conversation with Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, about the importance of free speech in a democratic society and the forces of censorship that imperil its existence. The panels and panelists follow:
- The Origins of the First Amendment and Its Central Role in Democracy, moderated by Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center
Jacob Mchangama, founder and CEO of Justitia; research professor at Vanderbilt University
Akhil Reed Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University
Stephen Solomon, Marjorie Deane Professor of Journalism at New York University; founder of NYU’s First Amendment Watch - The First Amendment in the Courts, moderated by Bruce Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Floyd Abrams, senior counsel at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP
Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University
Lyrissa Lidsky, Raymond & Miriam Ehrlich Chair in U.S. Constitutional Law at Florida Law - The First Amendment on Campus and Online, moderated by Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center Jeannie Suk Gersen, John H. Watson, Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School Nadine Strossen, John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law, Emerita, at New York Law School Will Creeley, legal director at FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
National First Amendment Summit coalition members include the Freedom Forum, FIRE, the First Amendment Watch at NYU, the National Constitution Center, PEN America, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Constitution Day Program: The History of Religious Liberty in America
Monday, September 18 | Reception 5:30-6:15 p.m. ET; Program 6:30-7:30 p.m. ET
Free In Person and Online
How did the America’s founders view religious liberty? And what does it mean today? Join constitutional law experts Marci Hamilton, author of God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law, and Michael McConnell, co-author of Agreeing to Disagree: How the Establishment Clause Protects Religious Diversity and Freedom of Conscience, 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.
How to Interpret the Constitution: A Citizen’s Guide
Thursday, September 28 | Noon ET
Free Online
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 will be 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.
The Forgotten Years of the Civil Rights Movement
Thursday, October 5 | Noon ET
Free Online
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.
From FDR to Biden: The Creation of the Modern Presidency
Wednesday, October 11 | 7 p.m. ET
Free Online
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 by 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.
Native Peoples and Redefining U.S. History
Wednesday, November 1 | Noon ET
Free Online
Join Yale historian Ned Blackhawk for a conversation on his national bestseller, The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History—a sweeping retelling of American history. Blackhawk explores five centuries of U.S. history to shed light on the central role Indigenous peoples have played in shaping the nation’s narrative. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
From Founders to Politicians: Political Divisions at America’s Birth
Tuesday, November 7 | Noon ET
Free Online
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? This Election Day, join 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, to explore political partisanship and nationalism in early America. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
What the Black Intellectual Tradition Can Teach Us About Democracy
Tuesday, November 14 | 7 p.m. ET
Free Online
Join 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, for a conversation exploring 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. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
From Spies to Leakers: The History of the Espionage Act
Monday, December 4 | 7 p.m. ET
Free Online
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? Join 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, to 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.
Loyalists vs. Patriots and the American Revolution
Wednesday, December 13 | Noon ET
Free Online
Join Joyce Lee Malcolm, author of The Times That Try Men’s Souls: The Adams, the Quincys, and the Families Divided by the American Revolution—and How They Shaped a New Nation, and Eli Merritt, author of Disunion Among Ourselves: The Perilous Politics of the American Revolution, to explore the origins and clashing ideologies during the American Revolution, how Loyalists and Patriots were divided, and how the differing opinions of both groups continue to shape our understanding of American identity. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
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About the National Constitution Center
The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia brings together people of all ages and perspectives, across America and around the world, to learn about, debate, and celebrate the greatest vision of human freedom in history, the U.S. Constitution. A private, nonprofit organization, the Center serves as America’s leading platform for constitutional education and debate, fulfilling its congressional charter “to disseminate information about the U.S. Constitution on a nonpartisan basis.” As the Museum of We the People, the Center brings the Constitution to life for visitors of all ages through interactive programs and exhibits. As America’s Town Hall, the Center brings the leading conservative and liberal thought leaders together to debate the Constitution on all media platforms. As a Headquarters for Civic Education, the Center delivers the best educational programs and online resources that inspire citizens and engage all Americans in learning about the U.S. Constitution. For more information, call 215-409-6700 or visit constitutioncenter.org.
