The Institute for Consitutional History — hosted by George Washington University Law School and by the New York Historical Society — announces a semester-length seminar on Lincoln’s Constitution.
Designed for graduate students and junior faculty in history, political science, law and related disciplines, the seminar will be taught by the distinguished scholars Akhil Reed Amar (Yale College and Yale Law School) and James Oakes (CUNY Graduate Center).
The Lincolns Constitution seminar at the Historical Society will move beyond the period when the Constitution was framed and first interpreted to consider some of the critical yet unresolved questions that Lincoln addressed during his years in public life. Among these were:
· What rights and protections did slaveholders have under the Constitution?
· Was secession lawful, or was the Union perpetual under the Constitution?
· What were the constitutional war powers of the presidency?
· Under what conditions could the president suspend habeas corpus?
· Did emancipation violate the constitutional right of property?
· What was the citizenship status of former slaves, and of free blacks generally?
· And who got to decide these issues: Congress, the Supreme Court, or Lincoln?
Applications for admission to the seminar may be made by email only, in care of Mmarcus [at] nyhistory.org, and will be accepted until August 30. Applicants should include a copy of their curriculum vita and a short statement on how this seminar will be useful in their research, teaching, or professional development. Successful applicants will be notified by email. For further information, please contact Maeva Marcus at (202) 994-6562 or e-mail icsgw [at] law.gwu.edu.
Lincolns Constitution will be taught at the New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, on Thursday afternoons from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. The seminar will be held on September 17 and 24 and on October 1, 15, 22, and 29, 2009.
