Live at the National Constitution Center

In celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month, authors Richard Kreitner (Fear No Pharaoh: American Jews, the Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery) and Shari Rabin (The Jewish South: An American History) discuss their new books on the broader Jewish experience from the Revolutionary era to the Civil War, how American Jews reckoned with slavery, Jewish participation in the Civil War, and some of the key American Jews who helped shape this tumultuous era. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program is presented in partnership with the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History [https://theweitzman.org/] and in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month [https://jewishamericanheritage.org/]. Resources * Richard Kreitner, Fear No Pharaoh: American Jews, the Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery [https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374608453/fearnopharaoh/], (2025) * Shari Rabin, The Jewish South: An American History [https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691208763/the-jewish-south?srsltid=AfmBOoqeSbPNCtiAnc_OBdow3-yxOZiYtOt9LBWueafrfdd60WCMWFk8], (2025) * Jonas Phillips, "Letter to George Washington [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-05-02-0291]," (Sept. 7, 1787) * George Washington, "Letter to the Savannah, Ga., Hebrew Congregation [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-05-02-0279]," (June 14, 1790) * George Washington, "Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-06-02-0135]," (Aug. 18, 1790) * August Bondi, Autobiography of August Bondi (1833-1907) [https://prodstorageroster.blob.core.windows.net/documents/8690/Autobiography_of_August_Bondi_1833_1907.pdf], (1910) Stay Connected and Learn More * Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠podcast@constitutioncenter.org⁠⁠⁠ [podcast@constitutioncenter.org] * Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. * ⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠ [http://bit.ly/constitutionweekly] to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. * Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. * Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠⁠live program⁠⁠⁠ [https://constitutioncenter.org/news-debate/americas-town-hall-programs] or watch recordings on ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoAU4X6DUZSt5n6aI74Hw0A]. * Support our important work. ⁠⁠⁠Donate [https://14948p.blackbaudhosting.com/14948p/General-Operating?_gl=1*1thklpf*_ga*MTc4MDkwODQzMi4xNjkyMTE0ODMz*_ga_0H9LQSTDVE*MTcxMjkyNzE4OS4yNDYuMS4xNzEyOTQyNjMyLjYwLjAuMA..]

The Honorable Stephen G. Breyer, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (ret.) and National Constitution Center honorary co-chair, joins Christiane Taubira, former French justice minister, for a conversation on democracy, the rule of law, and constitutional traditions from French and American perspectives. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Translation is provided by Nicholas Elliott. This program is presented in partnership with Villa Albertine’s series, Democracy in an Age of Uncertainty: French and American Perspectives [https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fvilla-albertine.org%2fva%2fevents%2fdemocracy-series%2f&c=E,1,4USBLPrtTLpH6_De4lSQLMFCWDYYQk5MADiqfstYwo-UfBejt2LvBOoP6HwGkaZaYISRD9T5cJwIOeaVTwiKAv65UbB_2r-JfoHKlaOLyQ,,&typo=1]. The series is made possible by the generous support of the Judy and Peter Blum Kovler Foundation. Stay Connected and Learn More * Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠podcast@constitutioncenter.org⁠⁠ [podcast@constitutioncenter.org] * Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. * ⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠ [http://bit.ly/constitutionweekly] to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. * Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. * Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠live program⁠⁠ [https://constitutioncenter.org/news-debate/americas-town-hall-programs] or watch recordings on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoAU4X6DUZSt5n6aI74Hw0A]. * Support our important work. ⁠⁠Donate [https://14948p.blackbaudhosting.com/14948p/General-Operating?_gl=1*1thklpf*_ga*MTc4MDkwODQzMi4xNjkyMTE0ODMz*_ga_0H9LQSTDVE*MTcxMjkyNzE4OS4yNDYuMS4xNzEyOTQyNjMyLjYwLjAuMA..]

President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship has reignited debates over the 14th Amendment and the meaning of citizenship in America. Legal experts Gabriel Chin of the University of California, Davis School of Law; Amanda Frost of the University of Virginia School of Law; Kurt Lash of the University of Richmond School of Law; and Ilan Wurman of the University of Minnesota Law School analyze the legal challenges surrounding birthright citizenship, explore the constitutional and historical arguments on all sides of this debate, and discuss its broader implications for immigration. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources * Trump v. CASA, Inc. [https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24a884.html], United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (2025) * Trump v. Washington [https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24a885.html], United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2025) * Trump v. New Jersey, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (2025) [https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24a886.html] * Amanda Frost,  [https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24a886.html]You Are Not American: Citizenship Stripping from Dred Scott to the Dreamers [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/659477/you-are-not-american-by-amanda-frost/] (2021) * Amanda Frost, “The Coming Assault on Birthright Citizenship [https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/01/birthright-citizenship-trump/681219/],” The Atlantic (Jan. 7, 2025) * Ilan Wurman and Randy Barnett, “Trump Might Have a Case on Birthright Citizenship [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/15/opinion/trump-birthright-citizenship.html],” The New York Times (Feb. 15, 2025) * Ilan Wurman, “Jurisdiction and Citizenship [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5216249],” Minnesota Legal Studies Research Paper No. 25-27 (April 14, 2025) * Gabriel “Jack” Chin and Paul Finkelman, “Birthright Citizenship, Slave Trade Legislation, and the Origins of Federal Immigration Regulation [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3822658],” UC Davis Law Review, Vol. 54 (April 8, 2021) * Gabriel J. Chin, “America Has Freaked Out Over Birthright Citizenship For Centuries [https://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/brief-history-of-birthright-citizenship-freakouts],” Talking Points Memo (Aug. 2015) * Kurt Lash, “Prima Facie Citizenship: Birth, Allegiance and the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5140319],” SSRN (Feb. 22, 2025) * Kurt Lash, The Fourteenth Amendment and the Privileges and Immunities of American Citizenship [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/fourteenth-amendment-and-the-privileges-and-immunities-of-american-citizenship/A4B520184FB9C2DAE3B74087C18CD6D2] (2014) Stay Connected and Learn More * Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠podcast@constitutioncenter.org⁠ [podcast@constitutioncenter.org] * Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. * ⁠Sign up⁠ [http://bit.ly/constitutionweekly] to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. * Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. * Join us for an upcoming ⁠live program⁠ [https://constitutioncenter.org/news-debate/americas-town-hall-programs] or watch recordings on ⁠YouTube⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoAU4X6DUZSt5n6aI74Hw0A]. * Support our important work. ⁠Donate [https://14948p.blackbaudhosting.com/14948p/General-Operating?_gl=1*1thklpf*_ga*MTc4MDkwODQzMi4xNjkyMTE0ODMz*_ga_0H9LQSTDVE*MTcxMjkyNzE4OS4yNDYuMS4xNzEyOTQyNjMyLjYwLjAuMA..]

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, historians Rick Atkinson, author of The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777; Mary Beth Norton, author of 1774: The Long Year of Revolution; and Rosemarie Zagarri, author of Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic, explore the events leading to the first shots of the American Revolution, the battles themselves, and the colonists’ response to this pivotal moment in history. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. RESOURCES * Rick Atkinson, The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 [https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781627790437/thebritisharecoming/], (2019) * Rick Atkinson, The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780 [https://rickatkinson.com/], (2025) * Mary Beth Norton, 1774: The Long Year of Revolution [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/239495/1774-by-mary-beth-norton/], (2020) * Mary Beth Norton, Liberty’s daughters: The Revolutionary experience of American women, 1750-1800 [https://www.amazon.com/Libertys-daughters-Revolutionary-experience-1750-1800/dp/0316612510?ref_=ast_author_dp_rw&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BmdR61tNxsEBwyYPJo4mkTcZrOPdDZyvTh4r9ov75CxuFgNbg_Jd7WZMd50urxOECVf08-YBnRHiULKYSglnC_i22VXL-pmxMggvSDi2Usl9Cvwdp0KAN9afmcCuccEeX6b0nyJF8fwjPW5GCyJG-1fTYRX5cRNbz_kpSoSWhBfYJ-7ZH05B55H7KoMcKXDxsh9xnCAPLXz4ucR-JaDf0XDoZMZ6m0gwxB-OtAv-R2k.lV9RR091ePX_e5SBqiVOnl8n5a5uzMBvgVWeLiAfX6A&dib_tag=AUTHOR], (1980) * Rosemarie Zagarri, Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic [https://www.pennpress.org/9780812220735/revolutionary-backlash/], (2008) * Rosemarie Zagarri, A Woman’s Dilemma: Mercy Otis Warren and the American Revolution [https://www.wiley.com/en-ie/A+Woman's+Dilemma%3A+Mercy+Otis+Warren+and+the+American+Revolution%2C+2nd+Edition-p-9781118774816] (2nd ed. 2014) * Townshend Act [https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/townshend-act] (1767) * The Tea Act and the Boston Tea Party [https://www.jyfmuseums.org/learn/research-and-collections/essays/the-tea-act-and-the-boston-tea-party] (Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation) * The Intolerable Acts [https://www.jyfmuseums.org/learn/research-and-collections/essays/what-were-the-intolerable-acts] (Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation) * Joseph Warren, “Our Country Is In Danger but Not To Be Despaired Of [http://www.drjosephwarren.com/2015/03/warren%E2%80%99s-1775-boston-massacre-oration-in-full-text-our-country-is-in-danger-but-not-to-be-despaired-of/],” (March 6, 1775) STAY CONNECTED AND LEARN MORE * Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org [podcast@constitutioncenter.org] * Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. * Sign up [http://bit.ly/constitutionweekly] to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. * Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. * Join us for an upcoming live program [https://constitutioncenter.org/news-debate/americas-town-hall-programs] or watch recordings on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoAU4X6DUZSt5n6aI74Hw0A]. * Support our important work. Donate [https://14948p.blackbaudhosting.com/14948p/General-Operating?_gl=1*1thklpf*_ga*MTc4MDkwODQzMi4xNjkyMTE0ODMz*_ga_0H9LQSTDVE*MTcxMjkyNzE4OS4yNDYuMS4xNzEyOTQyNjMyLjYwLjAuMA..]

In this episode, Brian Kalt of Michigan State College of Law and Jeffrey Toobin, author of The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy, explore the founders’ vision for the pardon power and the use of the presidential pardon throughout American history—from Thomas Jefferson’s pardons to those issued by Presidents Biden and Trump. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. RESOURCES * Jeffrey Toobin, The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy [https://www.amazon.com/Pardon-Politics-Presidential-Mercy/dp/1668125765] (2025) * Brian Kalt, Constitutional Cliffhangers [https://www.amazon.com/Constitutional-Cliffhangers-Legal-Presidents-Enemies/dp/0300123515] (2012) * Nixon Pardon [https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/digital-research-room/library-collections/topic-guides/nixon-pardon] (Gerald Ford Presidential Library) * Trump v. United States [https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf] (2024) * Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist No. 74 [https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed74.asp], New York Packet (March 28, 1788) * Abraham Lincoln, “Proclamation 124—Offering Pardon to Deserters [https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-124-offering-pardon-deserters]” (March 11, 1865) * United States v. Klein [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Klein] (1871) * Ex parte Garland [https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep071/usrep071333/usrep071333.pdf] (1866) * Andrew Glass, “Bush pardons Iran-Contra felons, Dec. 24, 1992 [https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/24/bush-pardons-iran-contra-felons-dec-24-1992-1072042],” Politico (Dec. 24, 2018) * Presidential Records Act [https://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/laws/1978-act.html] * Donald Trump, “Granting Pardons and Commutation of Sentences for Certain Offenses Relating to the Events at or Near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 [https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/granting-pardons-and-commutation-of-sentences-for-certain-offenses-relating-to-the-events-at-or-near-the-united-states-capitol-on-january-6-2021/],” (Jan. 20. 2025) * Jimmy Carter, “Proclamation 4483—Granting pardon for violations of the Selective Service Act, August 4, 1964, to March 28, 1973 [https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/proclamations/04483.html],” (Jan. 21, 1973) * Pardons granted by President Barack Obama [https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardons-granted-president-barack-h-obama-2009-2017] * Pardons granted by President Joe Biden [https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardons-granted-president-joseph-biden-2021-present] * Pardons granted by President Bill Clinton [https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardons-granted-president-william-j-clinton-1993-2001] * Pardons granted by President Donald Trump [https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardons-granted-president-donald-j-trump-2017-2021] STAY CONNECTED AND LEARN MORE * Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org [podcast@constitutioncenter.org] * Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. * Sign up [http://bit.ly/constitutionweekly] to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. * Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. * Join us for an upcoming live program [https://constitutioncenter.org/news-debate/americas-town-hall-programs] or watch recordings on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoAU4X6DUZSt5n6aI74Hw0A]. * Support our important work. Donate [https://14948p.blackbaudhosting.com/14948p/General-Operating?_gl=1*1thklpf*_ga*MTc4MDkwODQzMi4xNjkyMTE0ODMz*_ga_0H9LQSTDVE*MTcxMjkyNzE4OS4yNDYuMS4xNzEyOTQyNjMyLjYwLjAuMA..]