Constitution Day: The Making of the Constitution with Professor Klarman

The U.S. Constitution has become integral to America’s identity. It’s treated with an almost sacred reverence, its makers glorified. But the Framers—George Washington and James Madison among them—were not faultless beings, and despite good intentions, were inevitably influenced by their own interests, biases, and moral blind spots. Under such influences, they wrote a constitution that vastly expanded the powers of the federal government and insulated it from populist political pressures. Knowing this, one might wonder: how did they manage to convince Americans, through a reasonably democratic process, to approve the Constitution?

Join the Harvard Law ACS Student Chapter as we welcome Professor Michael Klarman who will seek address that, and other questions, in his Constitution Day talk.