Preserving and Protecting America’s Founding Documents
10 - 11 a.m.
What happens when priceless artifacts are threatened by theft or damage? How have copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and more survived through the years? Stephen Puleo, author of American Treasures, and Nancy Moses, author of Stolen, Smuggled, Sold, share the little-known stories behind the efforts to preserve humanity’s cultural heritage. Charles Cullen, interim president and CEO of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, moderates.
Is the Second Amendment Under Assault?
11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
David Keene, former president of the National Rifle Association and co-author of Shall Not Be Infringed, provides his take on the history of the gun control debate in America – including the battles fought in the courts, the media, and even the United Nations.
The Death Penalty and the Constitution
1:15 - 2:15 p.m.
Does the death penalty violate the Constitution? John Bessler, editor of Against the Death Penalty (by Stephen Breyer) and Carol Steiker and Jordan Steiker, authors of Courting Death: The Supreme Court and Capital Punishment, trace the unusual history of judicial regulation of capital punishment and offer their take on whether or not the death penalty violates the U.S. Constitution. Tom Donnelly, senior fellow in constitutional studies at the National Constitution Center, moderates.
The Constitution Today: Timeless Lessons for the Issues of Our Era
2:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Leading legal scholar Akhil Reed Amar addresses the biggest and most bitterly contested debates of the last two decades and provides a passionate handbook for thinking constitutionally about today’s headlines as described in his forthcoming book, The Constitution Today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
