Last week, we hosted a discussion of how the U.S. Constitution was written and how it has changed over time, featuring two authors with different takes: professors Wilfred Codrington III of Brooklyn Law School and Charles R. Kesler of Claremont McKenna College. Professor Codrington unveiled his new book The People’s Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union. Codrington tells the story of constitutional change through his focus on the amendments that he says have reshaped our founding document in order to create a more perfect union. At the same time, professor Kesler presented his book, Crisis of the Two Constitutions: The Rise, Decline, and Recovery of American Greatness. Kesler’s focus is on the Constitution as written in 1787, as opposed to a narrative of the progressive or “living” constitution, and argues that the two are at odds with each other. National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen moderates.
This conversation was streamed live on October 26, 2021.
FULL PODCAST
This episode was produced by Jackie McDermott and engineered by David Stotz. Research was provided by Michael Esposito, Chase Hanson, and Lana Ulrich.
PARTICIPANTS
Wilfred Codrington III is an assistant professor of law at Brooklyn Law School and a Brennan Center fellow. Codrington previously taught graduate and undergraduate courses at New York University's Wagner School of Public Service and was a fieldwork supervisor for the Brennan Center Advocacy Clinic at NYU Law School. He is also the coauthor of the new book, The People’s Constitution.
Charles Kesler is the Dengler-Dykema Distinguished Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College and a senior fellow of the Claremont Institute. He is also editor of the Claremont Review of Books, host of Claremont’s “The American Mind” video series, andt eaches in the Claremont Institute’s Publius and Lincoln Fellows Programs. Kesler is the editor of several volumes and the author of the new book Crisis of the Two Constitutions.
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.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- John Kowal and Wilfred Codrington III, The People’s Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union
- Charles Kesler, Crisis of the Two Constitutions: The Rise, Decline, and Recovery of American Greatness
- Michael Rappaport and David Strauss, National Constitution Center: Interactive Constitution, "Article V"
- National Constitution Center, The Constitution Drafting Project
- California Constitution
- McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
- Roe v. Wade (1972)
- Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2009)
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