Citizens Constitutional Workshop in Morehead City--March 17, 2012

Bring your children and grandchildren!!!


The John Locke Foundation Cordially invites you to A Citizens' Constitutional Workshop in Morehead City, NC

with our special guests  Dr. Troy Kickler & Dr. Michael Sanera
- Dr. Kickler is Founding Director of the NC History Project and Adjunct Professor of U.S. History at NCSU Dr. Sanera is Director of Research and Local Government Studies and Adjunct Professor in Political Science, NCSU

Workshop #2 in Morehead City: "What would the Federalists and Anti-federalists say about the current political and economic crises?"

Saturday, March 17, 2012, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., Joslyn Hall, Carteret Community College, 3505 Arendell St., Morehead City, NC 28557
Price: $5.00 (does not include lunch)
Join us for this exciting workshop on the U.S. and North Carolina Constitutons.

What would the Federalists and Anti-federalists say about the current political and economic crises? In a continuing effort to understand how the Founding Era relates to our current constitutional crisis, we offer this new workshop that focuses on what is arguably the most important debate of the Founding Era. The Federalist supported and Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the Constitution written in Philadelphia in 1787. Their arguments about the fundamental principles of our constitutional government still speak to us 224 years later.

Understanding this debate among some of our most famous founders enables us to clarify our present predicament. Even though they engaged in a vigorous and sometimes bitter debate over the meaning of the Constitution, both sides would be horrified with how the Constitution has been twisted and distorted by the progressive ideology, liberal court justices and presidents and congressmen all too willing to expand government to assure their immediate re-election.

A more fundamental understanding of this Founding Era debate will help us restore the Constitution to its proper place as the bedrock of our Republic.

What the experts are saying about "Citizens' Constitutional Workshop"
"The John Locke Foundation's workshop on the Constitution will provide a solid foundation for anyone interested in understanding the Founders' experiment in republican government. By taking a federal perspective upon the original understanding, students will learn how the Revolution was fulfilled by the Constitution -- and gain insight into the divergence between the world of James Madison, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson and the USA of today."  ~Kevin Gutzman, History Professor, Western Connecticut State University.  Author of Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution and Who Killed the Constitution?: The Fate of American Liberty from World War I to George W. Bush.

"While we have paid much attention over the years to the Constitution's drafting, we have paid relatively little attention to the intricate process by which it came to be ratified, and the role that the ratification debates played in the shaping of the Constitution's final form. Thanks to Pauline Maier's splendid recent book on the subject, however, attention is finally being paid to these fascinating, and still very germane, topics. This workshop will be an expression of that renewed interest, which is not only an interest in the Constitution itself but also in the true sources of its legitimacy." ~ Wilfred M. McClay, SunTrust Chair of Excellence in Humanities, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Author of The Masterless: Self and Society in Modern America


"In this time of renewed interest in the Constitution, it is meet that we look back not just on the text, but on the agreement itself. That agreement was hammered out in the state conventions, in crowded rooms full of arguments and clever attempts to turn portions of the agreement to the advantage of one group or another. "A Citizens' Constitutional Workshop" could not be more important, or more timely. That's why NC citizens should attend these workshops. They will remind us that the power of the Constitution is not what it says, but what it did, stitching together a solid national fabric from a patchwork quilt of diverse and opposing interests. We became a nation not when the Constitution was written, but rather when it was ratified."  ~ Michael C. Munger, Director: Philosophy, Politics and Economics- Duke University,


"A constitution is meaningless if its original intent is not preserved. "Citizens' Constitutional Workshop" has embarked on a project to retrieve the original intent of the Constitution through the most reliable, yet overlooked, means at our disposal--the states. The innovative method of this project combined with its ambition to retrieve our Constitution, and with it the true meaning of limited government, makes it the most important project of its kind. Troy Kickler and Michael Sanera are following in the Founders' footsteps by bringing this discussion to a public forum which is certainly the best place to start."  ~ Kyle Scott, Ph.D., Department of Political Science and Honors College, University of Houston.  Author of The Price of Politics:Lessons from Kelo v. City of New London and Dismantling American Common Law: Liberty and Justice in our Transformed Courts.

"The Key to the Constitution, as James Madison said, is the State ratifying conventions, and North Carolina played a pivotal role in defining the nature and scope of federal power. The American people will gain a better understanding of the original intent of the Constitution if they can digest how members of the State ratifying conventions argued for and against the document."  ~ Brion McClanahan, Ph.D., History Instructor, Chattahoochee Valley Community College, Author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers.

Purchase Tickets for this Event Online
http://www.johnlocke.org/events/event.html?id=966