Re Imagine the Constitution
Re-Claim the Role of the Citizen
Participate in the Constitutional Convention 2020
Background Questions
What was the motivation for establishing the United States of America?
What was the state of affairs that existed at the time?
What were the delegates who congregated in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 thinking?
Can their deliberation inform us today as we face the challenges of the 21st century?
Rethinking America’s Founding
Michael Klarman, Harvard Law Professor and author of The Framers’ Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution, and Patrick Spero, Librarian at the American Philosophical Society and editor of The American Revolution Reborn, discuss their new books, putting a human face on America’s Framers and reassessing the clashes that helped define the Founding era. Tom Donnelly, senior fellow in constitutional studies at the National Constitution Center, moderates.
What if the 1787 Constitutional Convention took place in the present? What would the constitution look like?
Building upon the events of the 1787 constitutional convention the Re-Imagine the Constitution initiative uses the proceeding to focus on the current implications of the constitution. It will be structured to allow the presentation of topics to be presented in the time frame that they were discussed in Philadelphia in 1787. We start with a discussion of the principles and history of the period and the motivation of the founders in convening the constitutional convention. It will build on the notes kept by James Madison during the convention.
The debates led to the formulation of the US constitution. In addition, we will include review and link to relevant Federalist and Antifederalist debates, constitutional interpretation, citizens' action.
The daily topics will be linked where possible to The Medical Case Presentation and My Political Ecosystem. Psychological insights used to build the constitutional framework by the founders will be analyzed and modern understanding will be used to suggest ways to reimagine the Constitution.
This initiative offers insights into the rationale that led to the constitutional convention. The initiative focuses on the current implications of the constitution created at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. It will be structured to allow the presentation of topics to be presented in the time frame that they were discussed in Philadelphia in 1787. We start with a discussion of the principles and history of the period and the motivation of the founders in convening the constitutional convention. It will build on the notes kept by James Madison during the convention.
We envision a process that is informed by a “modern” understanding of human nature to "develop" a constitutional framework adequate for social, political and economic life in the twenty-first century. Our process provides an easy to use a framework that embraces crowdsourcing and other tools and events for collaboration to address challenges in our society. We invite anyone who shares our vision and mission to take part in our work, suggest topics, pose questions, write posts, and most importantly, contribute to the conversation.
We invite anyone who shares our vision and mission to take part in our work, suggest topics, pose questions, write posts, and most importantly, contribute to the conversation.
Help us Re-imagine the constitution with one of the following connected activities:
The Journal of the US Constitutional Convention
Introduction to the Constitutional Convention
James Madison notes of debates
A 90 Day Study of the United States Constitution (Pdf)
Federalist-Antifederalist debate
Interactive Constitution
The National Constitution Center invited the American Constitution Society and the Federalist Society to nominate scholars to discuss every clause of the Constitution, exploring areas of agreement and disagreement about the Constitution’s text and history, how it’s been interpreted over time, and what it means today. For each major clause and amendment, they added nonpartisan educational resources from the National Constitution Center, including videos, podcasts, blog posts, and The Drafting Table, a tool that allows users to explore early drafts of the constitutional text.
Develop my Political Ecosystem
We will explore the impact of the constitution on our political ecosystem. How did the constitution shape our political ecosystem. Using the complexity lens, we put the political system under the microscope.
Engage with My Political Toolbox
My Political Ecosystem provides easy access to your specific ecosystem from local to national as well at the tools to actively participate in our democracy.
Constitution 101: The Meaning and History of the Constitution
The Hillsdale College
Course description. The Constitution established a limited government, but a government with sufficient powers to protect Americans’ God-given rights to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This course examines the design and purpose of the Constitution, the challenges it faced during the Civil War, how it has been undermined for over a century by progressivism and post-1960s liberalism, and how limited government under the Constitution might be revived.
Take Part in the Case Presentation
The Medical Case Presentation is an essential framework for a focused disciplined approach to addressing medical problems.
Join us for happy hour
Follow the Constitutional Convention With Social Media
You can follow the debated and join in with social media. Daily twitting #Myconstitution, facebook, and bloging.