National Archives Presents Program on Lincoln and the Constitution May 28
Press Release · Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Washington, DC

Akhil Reed Amar and Doug Kendall to discuss “The Law of the Land”

On Thursday, May 28, at 7 p.m., the National Archives hosts a special program based on legal scholar Akhil Reed Amar’s new book: “The Law of the Land: A Grand Tour of Our Constitutional Republic.” Litigator, author, activist, and non-profit entrepreneur Doug Kendall will join Professor Amar to discuss this book, and a book signing will follow the program.

This event is free and open to the public and will take place in the William G. McGowan Theater of the National Archives Museum and on YouTube. Attendees should use the Special Events entrance on Constitution at 7th Street NW. Reservations are recommended and can be made online. The National Archives Museum in Washington, DC, is Metro accessible on the Yellow and Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial station. For upcoming programs, visit the Calendar of Events.

In The Law of the Land, renowned scholar Akhil Reed Amar illustrates how geography, federalism, and regionalism have influenced some of the biggest questions in American constitutional law. While we may be united under one Constitution, separate and distinct states remain, each with its own constitution and culture. Writing about Illinois, “the land of Lincoln,” Amar shows how our 16th President’s ideas about secession were influenced by his Midwestern upbringing and outlook.

Akhil Reed Amar is Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, where he teaches constitutional law at both Yale College and Yale Law School. He received his B.A, summa cum laude, from Yale College, and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as an editor of The Yale Law Journal. After clerking for Judge Stephen Breyer, U.S. Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit, Professor Amar joined the Yale faculty in 1985. Along with Dean Paul Brest and Professors Sanford Levinson, Jack Balkin, and Reva Siegel, Professor Amar is the co-editor of a leading constitutional law casebook, Processes of Constitutional Decisionmaking. He is also the author of several books on Constitutional Law.

Doug Kendall is Founder and President of the Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC). He founded and directed the Community Rights Counsel, CAC’s predecessor organization. He has represented clients in state and federal appellate courts around the country and has co-authored more than two dozen briefs filed before the U.S. Supreme Court. He is the co-author of three books, and the lead author of numerous book chapters, reports, and studies. His academic writings have appeared in scholarly journals, including the Virginia Law Review. Doug received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Virginia.

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For press information contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.

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