We the People

In this episode, legal scholars Gillian Metzger, Julian Mortenson, and Ilya Somin discuss the Supreme Court’s approach to executive power in recent decisions. Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitution Center, moderates. This conversation was recorded live in Philadelphia on July 7, 2026, as part of the National Constitution Center’s 2026 Supreme Court Review, which is presented in partnership with the Center on the Structural Constitution at Texas A&M University School of Law. The program featured three panels with scholars of differing perspectives examining the Court’s 2025-2026 term, its approach to executive power, and civil discourse within and concerning the Court.



Resources

2026 Supreme Court Review: Key Decisions, Executive Power, Civil Discourse, National Constitution Center

Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump (2026)

Trump v. Slaughter (2026)

Trump v. Cook (2026)

Trump v. Illinois (2025)

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In this episode, Richard Epstein and Martha Jones discuss the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Trump v. Barbara, which struck down President Trump’s Executive Order on birthright citizenship. At issue in the case was whether the Constitution guarantees citizenship to children born to parents unlawfully or temporarily present in the United States. The Court concluded that it did. Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitution Center, moderates. 

 

Resources 


Trump v. Barbara (2026) 


Brief of Amicus Curiae Professor Richard A. Epstein 


Brief of Historians Martha S. Jones and Kate Masur as Amici Curiae 


“Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order in landmark decision,” Scott Bomboy for the National Constitution Center’s Constitution Daily Blog 


“In birthright citizenship opinions, a major constitutional disagreement,” Marcia Coyle for the National Constitution Center’s Constitution Daily Blog 


United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), National Constitution Center 


The Citizenship Clause, National Constitution Center

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Questions or comments? Email podcast@constitutioncenter.org. 

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In this episode, David Blight, Robert P. George, and Annette Gordon-Reed explore the enduring ideas at the core of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution—including equality, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and government by consent—and examine how those principles have been debated, interpreted, and contested over time. Moderated by Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitution Center, the conversation invites audiences to engage deeply with the ideas that launched a nation and to consider how our shared constitutional story continues to unfold. 

 

This conversation was recorded live in Philadelphia on June 8, 2026, as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall series. It is presented in partnership with the Organization of American Historians and the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute. 

 

Resources 


Annotated Declaration of Independence, National Constitution Center 


Interactive Constitution, National Constitution Center 


The Promise of America: Reflections on Our Enduring Ideals 

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The National Constitution Center recently published The Promise of America: Reflections on Our Enduring Ideals (Simon & Schuster), a keepsake collection of essays bringing together leading thinkers from across perspectives to reflect on the ideals at the heart of the American experiment and what those principles have meant across generations of American life. In this episode, Professor Eric Slauter discusses his essay, “The Declaration’s Promises,” which explores how the Declaration of Independence evolved from a justification of America’s separation from the British Empire into a global charter of liberty. As Slauter writes, in 1776, “very few in the newly United States besides a small contingent of Black and white antislavery activists would have seen the Declaration as a document of radical egalitarianism or even as a founding document.” However, over time, figures like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr. transformed the phrase “all men are created equal” into a foundational national promise and a powerful tool for social change. As Slauter notes, “it is largely their Declaration, as much as Jefferson’s or Congress’s, that we continue to celebrate today.” Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates. 

 

Resources 

Eric Slauter, “The Declaration’s Promises” 

National Constitution Center, The Declaration of Independence 

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Questions or comments? Email podcast@constitutioncenter.org. 

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If you ask Americans to name the signers of the Declaration of Independence, they will probably mention John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams. But what about the other 52 delegates from the 13 colonies who signed the document?  Men like Thomas McKean, Lyman Hall, George Walton, Francis Lewis, Benjamin Rush, and Roger Sherman? Historian Carol Berkin, one of the nation's leading scholars of the founding era and the author of the National Constitution Center's definitive short biographies of all 56 signers, joins the Center to explore the stories of these lesser-known signers. Berkin reveals these figures not as distant icons, but as real people whose lives were marked by ambition, sacrifice, hardship, resilience, and public service. As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, Berkin explains why understanding the full cast of characters behind American independence can deepen our appreciation of the nation’s founding and the ongoing work of constitutional self-government. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates. 

 

Resources 


Josiah Bartlett (New Hampshire), National Constitution Center 


Elbridge Gerry (Massachusetts), National Constitution Center 


Button Gwinnett (Georgia), National Constitution Center 


Lyman Hall (Georgia), National Constitution Center 


Francis Lewis (New York), National Constitution Center 


Thomas McKean (Delaware), National Constitution Center 


Robert Morris, Jr. (Pennsylvania), National Constitution Center 


Benjamin Rush (Pennsylvania), National Constitution Center 


Roger Sherman (Connecticut), National Constitution Center 


Richard Stockton (New Jersey), National Constitution Center 


George Walton (Georgia), National Constitution Center 


Biographies of all the Declaration’s Signers, National Constitution Center

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