On Wednesday, September 15th, nearly 300 students, staff, and faculty attended Discourse in Democracy’s annual “Constitution Day” lecture. This year’s speaker, Dr. William B. Allen, is Emeritus Dean of James Madison College and Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University and has been a member of the Mackinac Center Board of Scholars since 1995. Additionally, Dr. Allen is a former member and chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and has been a Kellogg National Fellow, Fulbright Fellow, and a member of the National Council on the Humanities.
Dr. Allen’s lecture, “The Constitution as Critical History,” was addressed to fundamental questions about the constitution including its origins, its role in ordering American political life, the role of negotiation and consensus in constitutional change, and its relationship to the institution of slavery.
In addition to the lecture, Dr. Allen hosted a seminar for two dozen political science majors focusing on George Washington’s “Rules of Civility.” The discussion focused on why Washington believed these rules were important, the nature of and importance of good character, and its relevance to today.
Mofe Abiodun, a political science student who attended the lecture, called it “very informative,” and said that it was “interesting to hear Dr. Allen’s analysis concerning the Constitution.” Prof. Casey Wheatland, who also attended the lecture, called Dr. Allen “a masterful speaker,” noting that “few share the insight into the Constitution that he demonstrated.” Of the seminar, MA student Jordan Hobbs said that Dr. Allen “was a great teacher” who “made interesting points.” Another student who attended the seminar noted that Dr. Allen “kept the entire classroom engaged” and “drew out fascinating conclusions from the document about not only George Washington’s character but the ethics of character in general.”
The department’s Constitution Day activities were made possible by a generous grant from the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles and History. Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is an American federal observance recognizing the adoption of the United States Constitution and those who have become United States citizens by birth or naturalization.
You can watch the lecture here.
