What are American values and where did they come from?

Join LWV Greenwich, Greenwich Library and Connecticut Public for this thought-provoking discussion featuring UPenn law Professor Kermit Roosevelt, III in conversation with Yale law Professor Akhil Reed Amar. The two will discuss and debate Professor Roosevelt’s new book, The Nation That Never Was.

Professor Roosevelt, the great-great grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt and a constitutional law scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, challenges us to re-examine the traditional narrative about how American values have evolved. The widely-accepted story posits an unbroken connection from our founding documents to today, as each generation tries to live up the words and ideals of the founders as laid out in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. He suggests instead a different way to understand this story, locating the genesis of today’s American values in the 19th century as opposed to the founding era. His colleague and former teacher, distinguished constitutional law Professor Akhil Reed Amar will discuss Roosevelt’s new take on the American story. This is an especially timely event as we find ourselves on the cusp of the 2024 election season.

Professor Amar teaches constitutional law at both Yale Law School and Yale College. His work has won awards from both the American Bar Association and the Federalist Society, and he has been cited by Supreme Court Justices across the spectrum in more than four dozen cases - tops among non-emeritus scholars. Professor Amar is the author of more than a hundred law review articles and several books, most recently “The Words That Made Us” about America’s constitutional conversation from 1760-1840.

A book signing will follow for both Professor Roosevelt’s book, The Nation That Never Was,
and Professor Amar’s book, The Words That Made Us. Books provided by Diane's Books.

Audience questions for the speakers can be submitted with registration.

Speaker Bios:
Professor Kermit Roosevelt III

Professor Akhil Reed Amar