The Revolution of 1868: The 14th Amendment & a New Understanding of the Constitution

(Webinar) Thursday, May 18 from 12 PM-1 PM ET

The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, marked a profound change in the Constitution, granting the federal judiciary and Congress new powers to safeguard the fundamental rights of individuals against state violations. These clauses cover the privileges and immunities of citizenship, due process of law, and equal protection under the law and were designed to ensure that all citizens are treated fairly. However, Barnett and Bernick argue that the Supreme Court has long misconstrued or ignored the original intent behind the amendment's key clauses.

Together, we'll learn about the history behind the Fourteenth Amendment and its impact on civil rights in America from the experts themselves. With their extensive knowledge and expertise, our featured guests will discuss the arguments put forth by antislavery advocates, the formation of the Republican Party, and how the amendment went beyond abolition to incorporate the concept of Republican citizenship into the Constitution. They'll also describe how Congress used its powers to pass Reconstruction-era civil rights laws, providing valuable insights into the original scope of the amendment.

Randy E. Barnett is a prominent legal scholar in constitutional law who serves as the Patrick Hotung Professor of Constitutional Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. He is also the Faculty Director of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution and has taught as a visiting professor at Penn, Northwestern, and Harvard Law School. Professor Barnett is a prolific author, having written 12 books, over 100 articles, and multiple op-eds. He argued high-profile cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including Gonzalez v. Raich (2004) and NFIB v. Sebelius (2012). He has also appeared in numerous documentaries and acted in a film.

Evan Bernick is a law professor who teaches constitutional law, criminal law, criminal procedure, administrative law, and legislation at NIU Law. He was previously a visiting professor and executive director at the Georgetown University Law Center and a resident fellow at the Center for the Constitution. Professor Bernick clerked for Judge Diane S. Sykes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He has also published extensively in prestigious law journals, including the Georgetown Law Journal and the William and Mary Law Review, among other journals.

Broadcasting this Weekend:

A Special Program Honoring the Women of National Statuary Hall

Saturday, May 13 at 6:05 pm ET on C-SPAN 2

Tune in to our program honoring the Women of National Statuary Hall this weekend on C-SPAN 2 or stream it online immediately after it airs.

In celebration of Women's History Month, the U.S. Capitol Historical Society welcomed members and supporters of the Society to a special program honoring the Women of National Statuary Hall on March 29. Our keynote speaker Dr. Michele Cohen, the Curator of the Architect of the Capitol, provided insights into the growth and evolution of women's representation in the collection. The event featured distinguished guest speakers, including Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV 1), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL 25), Lois Frankel (D-FL 22), and Laurel Lee (R-FL 15), who shared their perspectives on this important topic. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) also contributed her remarks via video.

America's First Plague: The Deadly 1793 Epidemic that Crippled a Young Nation

Video Available!

On May 3, we engaged in a thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Robert Watson, a distinguished American History professor and Avron Fogelman Research Professor at Lynn University.

During our webinar, Dr. Watson discussed his upcoming book, "America's First Plague," which explores the heavily politicized 1793 yellow fever pandemic that ravaged Philadelphia, the interim capital city. We learned the responses of medical professionals and founding fathers like Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson as they struggled to deal with the crisis. Our discussion also highlighted the tragic reality of how the yellow fever pandemic draws many parallels with the current COVID-19 crisis, making this topic that much more important.

The national government reacted slowly as the disease spread. Soon, citizens donned protective masks, and the authorities ordered quarantines. The streets emptied. Doubters questioned the science and disobeyed. The year: 1793. The place: young America, from Baltimore to Boston but especially in Philadelphia, the nation’s largest city and seat of the federal government.

Discover the captivating story of America's forgotten crisis in "America's First Plague," set to release this June. This definitive telling of the 1793 yellow fever pandemic uncovers the wave of fear that engulfed the fledgling republic and the unintended yet far-reaching consequences that impacted the development of the United States and the Atlantic slave trade.

Dr. Robert Watson is an award-winning author, professor, historian, and media analyst with a passion for history and politics. He has published over forty books, five works of fiction, and hundreds of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, and reference essays.

He also serves as the series editor for the long-running scholarly book anthology on the American presidency published by the State University of New York and as the editor of two popular multi-volume encyclopedia sets – The American Presidents and American First Ladies – which are currently in their fourth and third editions, respectively. Several of his books won national and international book awards and were featured at major literary festivals and on C-SPAN.

Throughout his career, Dr. Watson served as editor or a board member for several scholarly journals and served on the boards of local non-profit organizations, including the Harry Truman Foundation, the Calvin Coolidge Foundation, and George McGovern Library and Center for Public Service, co-convened a half-dozen national conferences on the American presidency and was the co-founder of the annual Truman Legacy Symposium which is held at the Harry S. Truman Little White House and sponsored by the Truman Presidential Library.

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Mother's Day is coming up soon and it's the perfect time to show your appreciation with a one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry. As a thank you for supporting USCHS, we're offering an exclusive 20% discount on all jewelry with the code MOTHERSDAY. Our custom jewelry set includes a piece of marble from the United States Capitol, a unique way to wear a piece of American history.

Original Sin: Slavery, Abolition,

and America's Moral Awakening

(Webinar) Video Available!

On April 21, the U.S. Capitol Historical Society continued our series on the Constitution with a study of the 13th Amendment: the battle for its passage, its impact, and its legacy today. Our featured guest who led this still important conversation was award-winning Professor of History & Law at Duke University, Dr. Thavolia Glymph, an elected Executive Board Member of the Society of American Historians.

During our event, we explored the economic impact of slavery, both as a Southern institution and as a driver of Northern manufacturing, and discuss President Lincoln's views on the constitutionality of slavery, the legal basis for the Emancipation Proclamation, and why the 13th Amendment was still necessary. Finally, we detailed the immeasurable impact of the 13th Amendment on African Americans and our society, but also why we still grapple with the history of slavery in a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Dr. Glymph is a Peabody Family Distinguished Professor of History and Professor of Law at Duke University. Her recent book, The Women's Fight: The Civil War's Battles for Home, Freedom, and Nation, won several awards, including the 2021 Beveridge Award as the best English-language book on the history of the United States, Latin America, or Canada, from 1492 to the present from the American Historical Association; The Mary Nickliss Prize from the Organization of American Historians; and the Tom Watson Brown Book Award from the Society of Civil War Historians and the Watson-Brown Foundation. Her first book, Out of the House of Bondage: The Transformation of the Plantation Household, won the 2009 Philip Taft Labor History Book Award. 

Dr. Glymph is a past President of the Southern Historical Association, an elected member of the Society of American Historians, the American Antiquarian Society, the Board of Directors of the Gettysburg Foundation, and the President-elect of the American Historical Association.

U.S. Capitol Historical Society | CapitolHistory.org