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Symposium on the European Enlightenment, France, and the Formation of the United States Constitution
October 19-20, 2012
Two hu ndred and twenty-five years ago today, delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the final draft of the United States Constitution, which established a new frame of government for the American republic. Nearly one third of the signers of the Constitution were members of the Society of the Cincinnati and had fought for American independence during the Revolution. With this year's symposium, we celebrate their service and explore the formation of our Constitution.
This two-day symposium brings leading scholars from the U.S. and France together for an international look at the impact of the Enlightenment on the Constitution. Admission to the symposium is free, but reservations are required. To register online, click here. Sessions are held in the auditorium of the Phillips Collection, across the street from the Society's headquarters at Anderson House. For more details, visit our website.
Program:
Friday, October 19
Session I: Republican Constitutionalism and the Spirit of the Enlightenment
Mortimer N. S. Sellers, University of Baltimore
Lucien Jaume, Institut d’études politiques de Paris
Session II: The Separation and Balance of Powers
Alain Laquieze, Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle
William B. Allen, Michigan State University
Saturday, October 20
Session III: Federation or Confederation?
Stuart Leibiger, LaSalle University
Jean-Pierre Gridel, Université Paris Descartes
Session IV: Democracy or a New Aristocracy
Saul Cornell, Fordham University
Lucien Jaume, Institut d’études politiques de Paris
Session V: Declarations of Rights and Liberty of Conscience
Jean-Yves de Cara, directeur exécutif, Université Paris-Sorbonne Abou Dhabi
Jean-Pierre Machelon, Université Paris Descartes
About the image: Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (1689-1755), was born near Bordeaux, where he was a local official before resigning to devote his time to intellectual pursuits. His masterpiece, The Spirit of the Laws (1748), deeply influenced American constitutional thought. This is the title page of the revised edition published in Geneva in 1749. The Society of the Cincinnati, Gift of the children of Michael Miller of the Connecticut Society in honor of their father, 2011.
The Society's public programs are supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati.
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