Education

The Institute for Constitutional History sponsors or co-sponsors a variety of events during the academic year. Here is a partial list of upcoming and recent events:

Upcoming Events

The Law of Nations and the Early American Constitution: How Citizens, Aliens, Slaves, and Indians Struggled to Build a “Civilized Nation” (NYC Seminar)
Friday afternoons, 2-5 pm: January 31, February 14, 28, and March 13
Constitution-making in the United States originated in an international war and for decades remained a cosmopolitan drama in which Americans claimed to be constituting a “civilized nation.” In four sessions taking place at the New-York Historical Society, David Golove and Daniel Hulsebosch will lead an exploration of the ways that early Americans invoked the law of nations to make sense of, for example, what it meant to be a revolutionary republic in a world of nations; state-builders in the evening of Enlightenment; African-Americans in an “empire of liberty”; and Native Americans caught between encroaching settlers and a fragmented but powerful government. In these contests, the law of nations functioned as a dynamic field of principles, practices, and keywords through which diverse actors filled in constitutional meanings while arguing about how to structure their relationship with each other and the wider world.

The deadline to apply is December 30, 2019. LEARN MORE

Applications should be sent via email to MMarcus@nyhistory.org.

The Creation of the Constitution (D.C. Seminar)
Thursday nights, 6–8 pm, January 16, February 6, 27, March 19, April 2, 9, 2020
Few events have had more impact on American history than the framing and ratification of the Constitution. This seminar is designed to offer students with serious interests in history, political theory, and constitutional law an opportunity to learn more about these events by examining how the Constitution was created, debated, ratified, and interpreted during the origins of the Republic. Special attention will be given to early constitutional controversies involving implied powers, including slavery, western lands, the removal power, amendments, the federal judiciary, and the creation of a national bank. This seminar is led by John Mikhail across six sessions taking place at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C.

The deadline to apply is December 20, 2019. LEARN MORE

Applications should be sent via email to MMarcus@nyhistory.org.

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ABOUT ICH

The Institute for Constitutional History (ICH) is the nation’s premier institute dedicated to ensuring that future generations of Americans understand the substance and historical development of the U.S. Constitution. Located at the New York Historical Society and the George Washington University Law School, the Institute is co-sponsored by the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, and the American Political Science Association. The Association of American Law Schools is a cooperating entity. ICH prepares junior scholars and college instructors to convey to their readers and students the important role the Constitution has played in shaping American society. ICH also provides a national forum for the preparation and dissemination of humanistic, interdisciplinary scholarship on American constitutional history.

Support for this seminar of the Graduate Institute for Constitutional History is provided in honor of Eric J. Wallach. The Graduate Institute for Constitutional History is supported, in part, by the Saunders Endowment for Constitutional History and a “We the People” challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.