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The National Constitutional Convention
Convention | Rationale | Participants | Topics | Agenda | Sponsors
The Convention
- October 19th, 2007 - 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium
1301 Constitution Avenue NW - Washington, DC
- "Delegates" from across the nation
- Constitutional Exhibitors
- National Youth Leadership Initiative participation of hundreds of thousands of students
- Event participants will discuss and debate possible changes to the U.S. Constitution and learn more about this important document
The Rationale
To further the Center's mission, we began the National Symposium Series in 1999 as an annual gathering to address relevant public issues. With Hundreds of participants, constitutional scholars, elected officials, journalists, and political insiders, the University of Virginia Center for Politics, led by Larry J. Sabato, hosted the National Constitutional Convention. The purpose was to discuss our nation's Founders' expectation for the Constitution to be revitalized on a "regular" basis and consider a series of possible changes and whether they would encourage a greater level of civic engagement and raise the level of trust in government and politics.
The convention, moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS's "Face the Nation," offered a wide range of topics such as presidential and congressional election reform, checking the powers of government, and the question, "Should there be another Constitutional Convention?", followed by further debate by the attending panelists. All in attendance had the opportunity to vote on each panel topic and render a tentative decision on the major reforms giving this event the feel of a constitutional convention.
Leading up to the convention, hundreds of thousands of young people across the nation who already participate in the Center's signature program, the national Youth Leadership Initiative, have studied constitutional reform, held their own mock constitutional conventions, and voted on a series of possible reforms in the nation's first national online youth constitutional convention. Video clips of these activities as well as results of the national student convention will be incorporated as part of the symposium with some student participants attending the event.
The goal of the National Constitutional Convention is not to promote one possible reform over another, but rather to spur a grand, national discussion on the Constitution of the United States and whether the cornerstone of our republic could or should be a means of revitalizing civic and political engagement in America, curtailing apathy and renewing confidence in American politics and government.
In 1787 there were furious debates, intense negotiations, and strategic feints and thrusts as the Founders struggled to establish a nation rather than just a loose confederation of states. The Center for Politics intends to ask: What if we were to have these debates, negotiations and maneuvering again, in our own time, with our own issues, with the benefit of over two hundred years of experience? Would experts and the general public vote to amend the Constitution, or would our modern day "delegates" and citizens accept the current document as our nation's best compass for navigating contemporary politics?
The convention is the start of a generational reconsideration of the Constitution, and indeed the most basic facets of our system of governance.
The Participants
Bob Schieffer, Anchor, CBS's "Face the Nation", Panel Moderator
Samuel Alito, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court
Geraldine Ferraro, former Vice Presidential nominee
Bob Dole, former U.S. Senator
Fred Barnes, Executive Editor, The Weekly Standard
Rob Bishop, U.S. Congressman, Utah-01
Donna Brazile, Founder and Managing Director, Brazile & Associates
Catherine Crier, Founder, Crier Communications Inc.
Lance Cargill, Oklahoma Speaker of the House
Garrett Epps, Professor, University of Oregon Law School
Paul Freedman, Professor, University of Virginia
Fred Grandy, Former U.S. Congressman from Iowa
Eleanor Holmes Norton, U.S. Congresswoman, D.C.-AL
Eric Lane, Professor, Hofstra Law School
Sandford Levinson, Professor, University of Texas School of Law
Joe Lockhart, Founding Partner, The Glover Park Group
Rich Lowry, Editor, National Review
Jamie Raskin, Professor, American U. Law School
Larry Sabato, Director, University of Virginia Center for Politics
Michael Steele, GOPAC Chairman
Nadine Strossen, President, ACLU
Sarah Weddington, Founder of The Weddington Center
Lowell Weicker, Former Governor of Connecticut
and others
Click Here for the full schedule.
The Topics
- Presidential Election Reform
- Checking the Powers of Government
- "Should there be another Constitutional Convention?"
- And Much More
Sponsors
The Center for Politics would like to thank the following groups and individuals for their generous support of the National Constitutional Convention. For more information, contact Vanessa Freeman at 434-243-3535.
- The Eugene Holt Foundation, Ivor Massey
- Wrinkle In Time Foundation, Andrea Currier
Previous National Symposium Series
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Copyright © 2008 U.Va. Center for Politics. All rights reserved.
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