The Remaking of America's Constitution
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
-- Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address
On October 9, renowned Constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar and award-winning journalist Laura Knoy will discuss the abiding significance of this opening line of Lincoln’s famous address, and the transformative Constitutional amendments inspired by Lincoln’s ideal of birth equality -- topics at the core of Amar’s new book, Born Equal: Remaking America’s Constitution, 1840–1920.
When: October 9, 2025, 7 p.m. (Doors open at 6 p.m.)
Where: Bank of NH Stage at 16 South Main Street in downtown Concord
Tickets are now available through the Capitol Center for the Arts box office. Students: Check with the Rudman Center, rudman.center@law.unh.edu, before purchasing tickets. 30 free tickets have been reserved for students and there may still be some available.
Proceeds from this event will support New Hampshire Humanities’ ability to sustain statewide humanities programs.
A signed copy of Born Equal can be reserved with your ticket, and books will be available for purchase at the event, courtesy of Gibson’s Bookstore.
Akhil Reed Amar
Akhil Reed Amar is Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, where he teaches constitutional law in both Yale College and Yale Law School. Amar’s 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 50 cases. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has written widely for popular publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time, and The Atlantic.
He is the author of more than a hundred law review articles and several books, including The Bill of Rights (1998 — winner of the Yale University Press Governors’ Award), America’s Constitution (2005 — winner of the ABA’s Silver Gavel Award), America’s Unwritten Constitution (2012 — named one of the year’s 100 best nonfiction books by The Washington Post. The first volume of his ambitious trilogy on American constitutional history from the Founding to the present, The Words That Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840, came out in May 2021. The second volume, Born Equal: Remaking America’s Constitution, 1840-1920, will be published in September 2025 and is already available for pre-order.
Amar’s sharp insights have been featured in journalistic giants like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time, and The Atlantic, bringing clarity to complex subjects. His expertise has also shaped popular culture, from his informal advisory role on the hit TV show The West Wing to appearances on The Colbert Report, Morning Joe, AC360, The 11th Hour with Brian Williams, Fox News @ Night with Shannon Bream, and the acclaimed Constitution USA with Peter Sagal.
Laura Knoy
Laura Knoy is a renowned speaker, moderator, podcaster, and journalist. She was the founding host of New Hampshire Public Radio’s “The Exchange,” a live daily call-in program that ran for 25 years, becoming the state’s most widely recognized and respected talk show. During that time, Knoy interviewed presidential candidates, hosted political debates and moderated thousands of conversations on a vast array of topics. In 2022, Knoy joined the Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership, and Public Service as Director of Community Engagement. Laura Knoy’s debut historical novel, The Shopkeeper of Alsace, will be published in early November.
