Town Hall

Congress in Times of Crisis

June 22, 2020

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Historians Edward Ayers of the University of Richmond and Joanne Freeman of Yale University and political scientist Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute discuss the U.S. Congress in times of crisis from America's founding, through the Civil War to today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. 


Participants
 

  • Edward Ayers is Tucker-Boatwright Professor of the Humanities and President Emeritus at the University of Richmond. He is the author of several books, including the forthcoming work, Southern Journey: The Migrations of the American South, 1790-2020. Ayers is host of The Future of America’s Past, the executive director of New American History, an online project based at the University of Richmond, and a cohost of the podcast, BackStory.
     
  • Joanne Freeman is the Class of 1954 Professor of American History and of American Studies at Yale University. She is the author of several books, including, The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War. She is a cohost of the  podcast, BackStory, and has worked on documentaries for PBS and the History Channel. Freeman also served as a historical consultant for the National Park Service.
     
  • Norman Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies politics, elections, and the US Congress. He is a cohost of AEI’s Election Watch series, a contributing editor and columnist for National Journal and The Atlantic, a BBC News election analyst, and the chairman of the Campaign Legal Center. Ornstein was a commissioner on AEI's and Brookings’ Continuity of Government Commission. Formed in the wake of 9/11, that commission produced important recommendations for how all three branches could reconstitute themselves and continue functioning in the wake of an emergency. 
     
  • Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
     

Resources Cited During the Program

Edward Ayers, The Thin Light of Freedom: The Civil War and Emancipation in the Heart of America

Joanne Freeman, The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to the Civil War

Fergus M. Bordewich, The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government

Norman Ornstein and Thomas E. Mann, The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track

Norman Ornstein and Thomas E. Mann, It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism

Electing the House of Representatives interactive map

Tom Standage, The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-Line Pioneers
 

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