Clay Jenkins with Joe Ellis on the 2024 Presidential Election.
Tag: National Constitution Center’
Constitution 101
From the National Constitution Center
Test your knowledge about the Constitution as we travel toward the 250th Anniversary of America.
Will Reason Prevail?
Lincoln is a figure that bulks very large in any thinking that we have about democracy, and especially in times that we live in now, times of anxiety, times of concern, fears of crisis. And at moments like this, we turn back to the figure of Abraham Lincoln, because there was a time of crisis in which he lived. And yet our democracy emerged victorious from that, in large measure because of his leadership and his wisdom. National Constitution Center, We the People podcast with historian Allen Guelzo
Readers of my blog will know that I frequently refer them to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia for nonpartison perspectives and resources about our founders and founding documents. A key function of the NCC is inviting scholars from varying perspectives for a deep dive into critical issues of our body politic in which listerners and readers are referred back to key events and Americans that have kept us on the path of a living democracy. Our principle of consent by the governed is foundational to preserving democracy in our time.
In this discussion with Allen Guelzo, we return to Lincoln in the Civil War in which a nation based on laws and reason are his guiding stars.
Please share this post with friends or on social media. The discussion with Jeffrey Rosen and Allen Guelzo is relevant to our current political strife.
Another Great American
Jeffrey Rosen, CEO and Executive Director of the National Constitution Center (NCC) and Professor of Law at The George Washington University Law School is as enthusiastic a scholar of the American Constitution as any man. His respect and love of the principles embedded in the Constitution’s DNA is infectious.
The National Constitution Center 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.
https://constitutioncenter.org/about
Here below are links to a podcast and a video on the Constitution Drafting Project in which three scholars – conservative, liberal, and libertarian – draft five new amendments to the Constitution.
For the Podcast go here.
Below is the YouTube video of the full discussion among these scholars. I was struck by the fact that in spite of different viewpoints, their five amendments were very similar which also came as a surprise to them. Their discussion provides citizens with understanding of how a broad range of viewpoints can converge on how to govern ourselves.
David Hume Revisited at the National Constitutional Center
David Hume and the Ideas That Shaped America
See the National Constitution Center site for this discussion. Includes bios of the David Hume scholars and additional resources to explore after the program.
What can modern American citizens and our political leaders learn from Hume? How were the views of our founding fathers shaped by the great philosophers of their time? How do they influence modern understanding of our Republic today? See this link to Federalist Paper 10 which considers the power of a government system to stem the tidal pull of dangerous fractions.
Jeffrey Rosen leads the discussion with three scholars of Hume. Original sources are suggested and links embedded in the chat during the discussion and provided on the wesite link above.
These same ideas are not only alive and well in our current political deliberations but also illuminate what has gone wrong and why. We can all use a dose of Hume and Madison to understand the forces that can threaten or aid the pursuit of happiness, meaning the common good.
Highly recommended to readers on this blog. Please forward to friends, neighbos and teachers and leaders in your communities. It is a non partisan discussion for all political persuasions to consider and for understanding the original thoughts and ideals that influenced the founding of America.
Hats off to the National Constitution Center, its guest scholars, and to Jeffrey Rosen for his able leadership.
Susan Feathers 