Members’ Corner
Photo Gallery: Presidents Day 2018
Member Events and Town Hall Programs
Please note:
All Town Hall programs are free for members of the 1787 Society.
Members receive complimentary tickets for daytime Town Hall programs and significant savings on evening programs.
To register for Members Only events, you will need to create a username and password for our website. If you have not done this yet, select “Click here to register.” when prompted to sign-in, to set up your account. If you need assistance, please contact us at [email protected] or 215-409-6767.
Members Events and Programs
Spring Members Events Coming Soon!
Questions about member events? Contact Membership Coordinator, Emily Polhamus at 215-409-6785.
America's Town Hall Programs
Members: to purchase tickets online, sign-in or create an account if you don't already have one. Enter the email address associated with your membership, and your password to be recognized in our online system as a Member. You can also purchase tickets by phone at 215-409-6785.
Challenges to Religious Liberty Today
Wednesday, March 27, 6:30 p.m.
$10 for Members, Free for 1787 Society
$35 for Members with CLE Credit (1 Substantive Credit)
From nuns seeking exemptions from health care mandates to a baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple, questions about religion and the Constitution are at the center of our national debate. Join us for a conversation with legal experts from differing perspectives, including Elizabeth Clark, Robin Fretwell Wilson, Matt Sharp, and Tobias Barrington Wolff, exploring what happens when religious liberty collides with anti-discrimination laws and regulations protecting LGBTQ and other minority groups.
This program is presented in partnership with Interfaith Philadelphia and as part of their year-long civil dialogue series, A Year of Civil Conversations.
An Evening with Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara
Wednesday, April 10, 6:30 p.m.
$20 for Members, Free for 1787 Society
$45 for Members with CLE Credit (1 Substantive Credit)
Don’t miss Preet Bharara, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and host of the podcast Stay Tuned with Preet, for his only book tour stop in Philadelphia. Bharara will join Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen for a wide-ranging conversation featuring anecdotes from Bharara’s time as a federal prosecutor, his thoughts on the justice system and constitutional governance today, and more, as described in his new book, Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law.
One copy of Preet Bharara's new book is included with each ticket purchase. 1787 Society Members will receive one copy of the book per membership. There will not be a book signing.
Prior to the program at 5:30 p.m., 1787 Society Members are invited to a reception with Preet Bharara. To RSVP, contact Emily Polhamus at [email protected]. Click here to join the 1787 Society today!
Joan Biskupic: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts
Thursday, April 18, 6:30 p.m.
$10 for Members, Free for 1787 Society
$35 for Members with CLE Credit (1 Substantive Credit)
Joan Biskupic, legal analyst for CNN and the author of highly-praised books on Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, and Sonia Sotomayor, unveils her new biography of John Roberts, the enigmatic chief justice of the United States. Taking us inside the momentous legal decisions of his tenure so far, Biskupic argues that Roberts is torn between two, often divergent, priorities: to carry out a conservative agenda, and to protect the Court's image and his place in history. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Copies of The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts will be available for sale. A book signing with Joan Biskupic will follow the program.
For Debate: Can the President Use Emergency Powers to Build the Wall?
Monday, April 22, 6:30 p.m.
$10 for Members, Free for 1787 Society
$35 for Members with CLE Credit (1 Substantive Credit)
This year, President Trump issued a presidential proclamation declaring a national emergency to fund the construction of a wall along the southern border. Join nationally recognized legal scholar Jonathan Turley and others for a timely debate examining the constitutional issues and legal questions at the heart of Trump’s recent executive action. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
This program is sponsored by a generous grant from the Charles Koch Foundation.
A Dangerous Idea: The History of Eugenics in America
Thursday, May 2, 6:30 - 8 p.m.
$10 for Members, Free for 1787 Society
$35 for Members with CLE Credit (1 Substantive Credit)
Exactly 92 years after the infamous Buck v. Bell decision, the Center presents a partial screening of A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics, and the American Dream—an award-winning documentary exploring the legal history of the eugenics movement in the United States. Following the screening, join the film’s executive producer, writer and attorney Andrew Kimbrell, acclaimed author and journalist Daniel Okrent, and law and bioethics scholars Paul Lombardo and Dorothy Roberts for a conversation exploring the dark history of eugenics and the Constitution.
DVD’s of A Dangerous Idea and copies of The Guarded Gate: Bigotry, Eugenics and the Law That Kept Two Generations of Jews, Italians, and Other European Immigrants Out of America by Daniel Okrent can be pre-purchased at checkout or purchased onsite at the program. A DVD signing with Andrew Kimbrell and book signing with Daniel Okrent will follow the program.
Presidents Adams and the Problem of Democracy
Thursday, May 9, 12 p.m.
Free for Members and 1787 Society
Historians Nancy Isenberg and Andrew Burstein examine the parallels between the politics and personalities of father and son Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams as described in their new book, The Problem of Democracy: The Presidents Adams Confront the Cult of Personality. The book highlights the Adamses’ prophetic warnings about the dangers of partisanship, demagoguery, and personality politics. Lana Ulrich, senior director of content, constitutional fellow, and senior counsel at the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Copies of The Problem of Democracy can be pre-purchased at checkout or purchased onsite at the program. A book signing with Andrew Burstein and Nancy Isenberg will follow the program.
Women in the Civil War: The Untold Stories
Monday, May 20, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
$10 for Members, Free for 1787 Society
Don’t miss an evening of conversation presented in conjunction with the Center’s new permanent exhibit Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality, opening May 9. Noted historians Catherine Clinton, Thavolia Glymph, and Kate Masur, will explore the untold stories of the women abolitionists and suffragists of the Civil War and Reconstruction and how their work influenced constitutional change. Following the moderated conversation from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., guests will have access to tour the new Civil War and Reconstruction exhibit from 7:30 – 8:30 p.m.
This program is presented in conjunction with the Center’s exhibit, Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality, and presented in partnership with Vision 2020’s Women 100: Celebrating 100 years of Women’s Voting Rights, a national initiative headquartered at Drexel University.
George Will: The Conservative Sensibility
Thursday, June 20, 7 p.m.
$10 for Members, Free for 1787 Society
Celebrated political writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George Will returns to the Center for a conversation about his new book, The Conservative Sensibility, described as a monumental new reflection on American conservatism. Will examines how the founders’ belief in natural rights articulated first in the Declaration of Independence and carried out in the Constitution gave birth to a great American political tradition—one based on limited government, religious freedom, and belief in human virtue and dignity, and one that Will argues now finds itself under threat. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Copies of The Conservative Sensibility can be pre-purchased at checkout or purchased onsite at the program. A book signing with George Will will follow the program. This program is sponsored by a generous grant from the Charles Koch Foundation.
2019 Annual Supreme Court Review
Tuesday, July 9, 12 - 2 p.m.
$10 for Members, Free for 1787 Society
$70 for Members with CLE Credit (2 Substantive Credits)
Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, legal scholars Erwin Chemerinsky and Frederick Lawrence, and Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick, examine the Supreme Court’s 2018-19 term, which includes significant cases regarding religious displays, the death penalty, partisan gerrymandering, the census, and more. Melissa Garlick, civil rights national counsel for the Anti-Defamation League, moderates.
This program is presented in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League.