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President Donald Trump's executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship has reignited debates over the 14th Amendment and the meaning of citizenship in America. Legal experts Gabriel Chin of the University of California, Davis School of Law; Amanda Frost of the University of Virginia School of Law; Kurt Lash of the University of Richmond School of Law; and Ilan Wurman of the University of Minnesota Law School analyze the legal challenges surrounding birthright citizenship, explore the constitutional and historical arguments on all sides of this debate, and discuss its broader implications for immigration. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources Trump v. CASA, Inc., United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (2025) Trump v. Washington, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2025) Trump v. New Jersey, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (2025) Amanda Frost, You Are Not American: Citizenship Stripping from Dred Scott to the Dreamers (2021) Amanda Frost, “The Coming Assault on Birthright Citizenship,” The Atlantic (Jan. 7, 2025) Ilan Wurman and Randy Barnett, “Trump Might Have a Case on Birthright Citizenship,” The New York Times (Feb. 15, 2025) Ilan Wurman, “Jurisdiction and Citizenship,” Minnesota Legal Studies Research Paper No. 25-27 (April 14, 2025) Gabriel “Jack” Chin and Paul Finkelman, “Birthright Citizenship, Slave Trade Legislation, and the Origins of Federal Immigration Regulation,” UC Davis Law Review, Vol. 54 (April 8, 2021) Gabriel J. Chin, “America Has Freaked Out Over Birthright Citizenship For Centuries,” Talking Points Memo (Aug. 2015) Kurt Lash, “Prima Facie Citizenship: Birth, Allegiance and the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause,” SSRN (Feb. 22, 2025) Kurt Lash, The Fourteenth Amendment and the Privileges and Immunities of American Citizenship (2014) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate
On May 15, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case challenging the constitutionality of President Trump's executive order which seeks to end birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants. Legal scholars Gabriel Chin of the University of California, Davis School of Law; Amanda Frost of the University of Virginia School of Law; Kurt Lash of the University of Richmond School of Law; and Ilan Wurman of the University of Minnesota Law School join Jeffrey Rosen to debate the scope of the citizenship clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Resources Gabriel J. Chin and Paul Finkelman, “Birthright Citizenship, Slave Trade Legislation, and the Origins of Federal Immigration Regulation,” UC Davis Law Review (April 8, 2021) Ilan Wurman, “Jurisdiction and Citizenship,” Minnesota Legal Studies Research Paper No.25-27 (April 14, 2025) Amanda Frost, “The Coming Assault on Birthright Citizenship,” The Atlantic (Jan. 7 2025) Kurt Lash, “Prima Facie Citizenship: Birth, Allegiance and the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause,” SSRN (Feb. 22, 2025) Amanda Frost, Testimony Before the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, U.S. House of Representatives (Feb. 25, 2025) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate
Kurt Lash, professor of law at the University of Richmond, talks to Timon about the history and development of the Fourteenth Amendment.
On February 8, 2024, the Supreme Court will hear Oral Argument in Trump v. Anderson. The Court will consider whether the Colorado Supreme Court erred in ordering former President Donald Trump excluded from the 2024 presidential primary ballot.Legal questions involved in the case include whether Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment is "self-executing" or requires an additional act of Congress, whether the events of January 6, 2021, constitute an insurrection, and if so whether Donald Trump participated in that insurrection, and whether the President is an "officer of the United States" as meant by Section 3.Join us as a panel of experts, including Prof. Kurt Lash, who submitted an amicus brief in the case, and Prof. Ilya Somin, who also submitted an amicus brief, preview this case the day before the oral argument, discussing the case and the questions implicated by it.Featuring:Prof. Kurt T. Lash, E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in Law, University of Richmond School of LawProf. Ilya Somin, Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University(Moderator) Prof. Derek T. Muller, Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School
Julie dissects the history of affirmative action, the 13th amendment, 303 Creative v. Elenis , and Supreme Court rulings with Kurt Lash, renowned constitutional law scholar, author, and professor at the University of Richmond. Topics include: Biden's SOTU; the DNC passes new primary calendar making South Carolina first and booting Iowa.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How did thirteen separate colonies become the United States of America? The answer is found in the second half of the American Constitution—Articles IV through VII. Kurt Lash, Professor of Law at the University of Richmond, explains. Donate today to help keep PragerU podcasts and videos free! PragerU.com/donate
The Civil War and its aftermath were a turning point in American history. Starting near the end of the war and then continuing during Reconstruction, Congress set to work drafting three constitutional amendments that would fundamentally alter our founding document. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments, collectively known as the Reconstruction Amendments, aimed to protect the liberties that had previously been denied in much of the country. Together, these amendments abolished slavery, established the rights to due process and equal protection, and banned racial discrimination in voting laws.Today, the Reconstruction Amendments remain at the heart of some of our most contentious legal controversies: Does equal protection mandate equality of outcome or equality of opportunity? To what extent does due process carry with it substantive rights of personal autonomy? And do the “privileges or immunities” guaranteed to all citizens encompass a broader set of rights than courts have been willing to protect?To help us answer these questions, it is crucial to understand what those who drafted, debated, and ratified the Reconstruction Amendments thought and said. University of Richmond law professor Kurt Lash's epic two‐volume work is the most comprehensive source ever compiled of the key speeches, debates, and public dialogues that accompanied the drafting and ratification of these amendments. In this book forum, Professor Lash will comment on his work and the importance of primary historical sources to constitutional study. Professors Christopher Green and Richard Primus will also offer their thoughts on the work and its implications. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In light of the critical events and national debates over the past year about race, rights, and equality, the National Constitution Center hosts a discussion exploring the question: “Do we need a third Reconstruction?” Last week, Jeffrey Rosen was joined by Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; professor Wilfred Codrington III of Brooklyn Law School; political scientist William Allen; and professor Kurt Lash of the University of Richmond School of Law and author of a new two-volume series, The Reconstruction Amendments. They explored the first Reconstruction following the Civil War, and the Civil Rights movement as a kind of second “reconstruction”—and then considered whether we need a third era of reconstruction in America today. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Additional resources and transcript available at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
This week, we’re sharing a constitutional conversation from our archives. Leading legal scholars and historians Allen Guelzo, Martha Jones, Kurt Lash, and Darrell A. H. Miller tell the story of the 14th amendment and the “forgotten founders” who fought for it. Jeffrey Rosen moderates. This conversation was part of a symposium celebrating the 150th anniversary of the 14th Amendment co-hosted with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Constitution Day— the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution on September 17th, 1787—is next week! As we look forward to Constitution Day, this week’s episode shares founding stories of America’s founding documents from three key periods: the Declaration of Independence and the Revolution, the Founding era, and post-Civil War Reconstruction, sometimes referred to as the “second founding.” Renowned teachers of the Constitution, Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and professor Kurt Lash, tell the stories of: Thomas Paine’s Common Sense: the power of words and a single person to change the course of American history Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence, and how Jefferson’s words may have impacted abolition James Madison’s rejection of the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798 and how it may have influenced abolitionists' fight for the freedom of formerly enslaved people like Joshua Glover The creation of the Electoral College The story of the adoption of the 14th amendment from different perspectives The debate over whether the Constitution is pro or anti-slavery What unites us in how we understand the story of our Constitution Tune into the NCC’s Constitution Day programming next Thursday! See the schedule here: https://constitutioncenter.org/learn/civic-calendar/constitution-day-civic-holiday
Constitution Day— the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution on September 17th, 1787—is next week! As we look forward to Constitution Day, this week’s episode shares founding stories of America’s founding documents from three key periods: the Declaration of Independence and the Revolution, the Founding era, and post-Civil War Reconstruction, sometimes referred to as the “second founding.” Renowned teachers of the Constitution, Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and professor Kurt Lash, tell the stories of: Thomas Paine’s Common Sense: the power of words and a single person to change the course of American history Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence, and how Jefferson’s words may have impacted abolition James Madison’s rejection of the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798 and how it may have influenced abolitionists' fight for the freedom of formerly enslaved people like Joshua Glover The creation of the Electoral College The story of the adoption of the 14th amendment from different perspectives The debate over whether the Constitution is pro or anti-slavery What unites us in how we understand the story of our Constitution Tune into the NCC’s Constitution Day programming next Thursday! See the schedule here: https://constitutioncenter.org/learn/civic-calendar/constitution-day-civic-holiday
A panel of legal scholars discussed the relationship between originalist legal philosophy and stare decisis, the legal principle of using precedent to determine outcomes in litigation. The panel consisted of Professors John Harrison and Deborah Hellman; Kurt Lash, University of Richmond School of Law professor; and UVA Law student Henry Dickman ’20. Professor Emeritus Lillian R. BeVier served as moderator. This panel was featured during UVA Law Federalist Society’s symposium “Originalism and Precedent: Exploring Paths to Reform.” (University of Virginia School of Law, Feb. 13, 2020
Kurt Lash comes to Liberty Law Talk to discuss his newest book, The Fourteenth Amendment: The Privileges and Immunities of American Citizenship. If you think the Slaughter-House Cases of 1873 gutted the Privileges or Immunities Clause of constitutional meaning and set us on our present course of strangely incorporating the Bill of Rights through the […]
John Bingham was one of the most influential but least known visionaries of the post-Civil War Constitution. Dubbed “the James Madison of the 14th Amendment” by Justice Hugo Black, Bingham drafted a constitutional provision that changed the course of American history by ensuring that states were duty-bound to uphold their citizens’ constitutional rights. A moderate Republican and dedicated supporter of abolition before the Civil War, Bingham spearheaded the Reconstruction-era efforts to guarantee citizenship to all people born in the United States, regardless of race, and to extend the Constitution’s promise of equality to all American citizens. Gerard Magliocca is the Samuel R. Rosen Professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law and the author of the definitive biography of Bingham. Kurt Lash is the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in Law at the University of Richmond School of Law and the author of the book The Fourteenth Amendment and the Privileges or Immunities of American Citizenship. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at podcast@constitutioncenter.org The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.
Leading Civil War and Reconstruction scholars discuss the history and meaning of the 14th Amendment in celebration of its 150th anniversary. Allen Guelzo is the Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era, and Director of Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College. Martha Jones is Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University. Kurt Lash is E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in Law and Founder and director of the Richmond Program on the American Constitution at Richmond School of Law. Darrell A.H. Miller is Melvin G. Shimm Professor of Law at Duke Law School. The host is Jeffrey Rosen. Sherrilyn Ifill, the seventh President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Trustee of the National Constitution Center, provides introductory remarks. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at podcast@constitutioncenter.org The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.
2010 Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation: Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference
2010 Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation: Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference
2012 Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation: Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference
2012 Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation: Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference
Professor Lash graduated from Yale Law School and served as law clerk to the Honorable Robert R. Beezer of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Afterward, he joined the University of Illinois from Loyola Law School Los Angeles, where he served as the James P. Bradley Chair of Constitutional Law. His recent book, The Lost History of the Ninth Amendment, was published in 2009 by Oxford University Press. Cambridge University Press will publish his second book, American Privileges and Immunities: Federalism, The Fourteenth Amendment and the Rights of American Citizenship. Alan Gura's practice focuses primarily on constitutional law. Prior to founding Gura & Possessky, PLLC, Mr. Gura began his career by serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Terrence W. Boyle, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Subsequently, as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of California, Mr. Gura defended the State of California and its employees from all manner of lawsuits, in state and federal courts, at trial and on appeal. Thereafter, Mr. Gura entered the private practice of law with the Washington, D.C. offices of Sidley & Austin. In February 2000, he left the firm to serve for a year as Counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Criminal Justice Oversight. Presented by the Federalist Society on January 25, 2017.
Professor Lash graduated from Yale Law School and served as law clerk to the Honorable Robert R. Beezer of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Afterward, he joined the University of Illinois from Loyola Law School Los Angeles, where he served as the James P. Bradley Chair of Constitutional Law. His recent book, The Lost History of the Ninth Amendment, was published in 2009 by Oxford University Press. Cambridge University Press will publish his second book, American Privileges and Immunities: Federalism, The Fourteenth Amendment and the Rights of American Citizenship. Alan Gura's practice focuses primarily on constitutional law. Prior to founding Gura & Possessky, PLLC, Mr. Gura began his career by serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Terrence W. Boyle, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Subsequently, as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of California, Mr. Gura defended the State of California and its employees from all manner of lawsuits, in state and federal courts, at trial and on appeal. Thereafter, Mr. Gura entered the private practice of law with the Washington, D.C. offices of Sidley & Austin. In February 2000, he left the firm to serve for a year as Counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Criminal Justice Oversight. Presented by the Federalist Society on January 25, 2017.
2016 Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation: Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference
2016 Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation: Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference
2016 Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation: Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference
2016 Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation: Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference
2016 Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation: Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference
2016 Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation: Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference
2012 Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation: Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference
2012 Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation: Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference
2010 Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation: Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference
2010 Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation: Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference