The Declaration of Independence and its Influence on the Constitution

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 June 2019

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In honor of the anniversary of the ratification of the Constitution, June 21, and the upcoming Independence Day holiday on July 4 – today’s episode celebrates the influence of the Declaration of Independence on the Constitution and constitutional movements throughout history. We explore how the Declaration influenced the drafting of the Constitution itself; the abolitionist movement and Abraham Lincoln’s conception of a new birth of freedom after the Civil War; the Seneca Falls Convention and the campaign for women’s suffrage; the Progressive movement and the New Deal;,Dr. King and the Civil Rights revolution; through to the modern conservative originalist movement as well as progressivism today. Host Jeffrey Rosen is joined by Danielle Allen – James Bryan Conant University Professor at Harvard and author of the book 'Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality' – and Ken Kersch – professor of political science at Boston College and author of 'Conservatives and the Constitution: Imagining Constitutional Restoration in the Heyday of American Liberalism'. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and welcome
0:07.8	to We The People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.
0:11.6	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress to increase awareness
0:18.2	and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
0:22.3	June 21st is the anniversary of the ratification of the Constitution,
0:26.0	and in honor of that anniversary and the upcoming July 4th Independence Day holiday,
0:33.4	today's episode explores the relationship
0:36.2	between the Declaration of Independence
0:38.8	and the Constitution.
0:40.4	The Declaration has been invoked
0:42.2	by constitutional thinkers throughout. The Declaration and the Constitution are two of America's leading historians and scholars about
0:56.5	both documents. It's such an honor to have both of them and to introduce
1:01.5	them to you, dear We The People listeners.
1:04.6	Danielle Allen is James Bryan Conant University professor at Harvard University and
1:09.1	director of Harvard's Edmon J. Safra Center for Ethics. She is principal investigator for Harvard's Edmon J. Saffra Center for Ethics.
1:12.8	She is principal investigator for Harvard's Democratic
1:15.6	Knowledge Project.
1:17.0	She's the author of Pathbreaking,
1:19.5	invaluable books, including Our Declaration, a reading of the Declaration of Independence
1:25.3	in Defense of Equality. Danielle it is an honor to have you back with us.
1:29.7	Thank you Jeff it's an honor and a pleasure to be here.
1:34.0	And Ken Kirsch is professor of political science at Boston College, studying American political
	...

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