Event Information (including how to register) available here and below

THE RELUCTANT STATESMAN: GEORGE MASON AND THE AMERICAN TRADITION OF DISSENT

In a special afternoon symposium, acclaimed historians and scholars Fergus Bordewich, Linda Monk, Julie Silverbrook, Stephen Solomon, David O. Stewart, and Ralph Young discuss George Mason — one of the three dissenters of the Constitution — and the role dissent has played in shaping America. This program is presented in partnership with George Mason’s Gunston Hall.

12:00 – 12:05 p.m.: Welcome Remarks
Scott Stroh, Executive Director, Gunston Hall

12:05 – 12:20 p.m.: Keynote Address
Tom Donnelly, Senior Fellow for Constitutional Studies, National Constitution Center

12:20 – 1:20 p.m.: George Mason and America’s Founding: Mason’s Constitutional Legacy
Historians David O. Stewart and Fergus Bordewich, and Julie Silverbrook, executive director of The Constitutional Sources Project, discuss Mason’s constitutional legacy, including his influence on the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, and his relationship with key Founding Fathers. Scott Stroh, executive director at Gunston Hall, moderates.

1:30 – 2:30 p.m.: George Mason, the First Amendment, and the American Tradition of Dissent
Constitutional scholar Linda Monk, Stephen Solomon, author of Revolutionary Dissent: How the Founding Generation Created the Freedom of Speech, and Ralph Young, author of Dissent: The History of an American Idea, discuss Mason’s role as a key dissenter, the birth of the First Amendment, and the importance of the tradition of dissent in American history. Michael Gerhardt, scholar-in-residence at the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Watch live on October 5 at noon: http://constitutioncenter.org/calendar/the-reluctant-statesman-george-mason-and-the-american-tradition-of-dissent