Professor Amar will discuss how the Constitution barely squeaked through the ratification process in 1787–88; how Americans picked their early presidents based on constitutional themes; and how constitutional issues once again loom front and center in this year’s elections. His talk will feature ideas from his most recent book, The Words That Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760–1840 (2021), and his current book in progress, Born Equal: America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1840–1920 (2025).