Explore constitutional crises and American democracy with Professor Marcus Gadson at this year’s Constitution Day celebration

Each year, UNC School of Law organizes the campus-wide Constitution Day celebration to commemorate September 17, the day on which the Constitution of the United States was signed. Constitution Day allows schools and colleges across the country to reflect on United States history, the deeper meanings within the Constitution, and the hopes it represents for the future. 

Carolina Law will celebrate the federal observance this year on September 17 with a presentation by Associate Professor of Law Marcus Gadson exploring themes from his book Sedition: How America’s Constitutional Order Emerged from Violent Crisis in Room 5048 at 12:00 p.m. The talk will examine how moments of constitutional crisis shaped the framework of American constitutionalism, tracing episodes when dissent and disorder threatened to destabilize the young republic and how leaders responded — sometimes repressively, sometimes with reform — in ways that forged the institutions and norms we now take for granted. 

Gadson’s presentation will connect past crises to present-day debates over constitutional stability, inviting the audience to think critically about the relationship between dissent, legitimacy, and resilience in American democracy. Box lunches will be available for attendees in the hallway outside the classroom. 

Professor Gadson is one of the nation’s leading authorities on state constitutions and has published articles in top journals including the NYU Law Review, Michigan Law Review, and Georgetown Law Journal. Before joining Carolina Law this year, he taught at Campbell University, where he won Professor of the Year three times in a row. Prior to entering academia, Professor Gadson practiced at Steptoe and Johnson in Washington D.C. and served as a law clerk to Judge Bernice Donald of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and teaches courses in Civil Procedure, State Constitutional Law, and North Carolina Constitutional Law. 

The event will conclude at 12:50 p.m. to accommodate attendees with 1:00 p.m. class obligations. C-SPAN will be recording the presentation. 

This event is free and open to the public.