I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center and welcome to We

the People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.

The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan

nonprofit chartered by Congress to increase awareness and understanding of the

Constitution among the American people.

In August, the Democratic and Republican parties held their conventions mostly virtually

for the first time in history due to the Corona crisis.

This week on We The People, we look to past conventions throughout history.

We'll explore the constitutional positions the parties have taken,

from the founding to the Civil War era and beyond.

We'll dive into 19th century party platforms to consider the evolution of the party's constitutional

positions.

And to help educate us, I'm joined by two of America's leading experts on the history of

political parties. John Gering is professor of government at the University. is He's the author of many books including Party Adiologies in America 1828 to 1996.

John, it is great to have you on the show.

Great to be here.

And Michael F Holt is the Langborn M. William Professor of American History Emeritus at the University

of Virginia.

He is the author of six books, including the award winning, the rise and fall of the American

Whig Party

and American political development

from the age of Jackson to the age of Lincoln.

...