The Civil Society Workshop will meet on Thursday, April 23 at 12:30 pm on Zoom for a discussion with
John Kowal
Brennan Center for Justice, Vice president for programs
The People’s Constitution: How Social Movements and Civil Society Organizations Have Shaped the U.S. Constitution
This presentation, from a forthcoming book, will look at the role of social movements and civil society organizations in effecting constitutional change in the United States. Broad-based social movements played a crucial role in many amendment fights: from the nascent organizing of Anti-Federalists who demanded changes to the new Constitution; to the powerful 19th century movements promoting temperance, abolition of slavery, and woman suffrage; to the modernizing crusades of the Populists and Progressives; to the civil rights revolution of the 1960s. By the turn of the 20th century, these campaigns were increasingly shaped by professionalized pressure groups. These increasingly sophisticated civil society organizations, not necessarily representing movements, pioneered strategies of research, organizing, communications, lobbying, and political pressure to transform the politics of constitutional amendments. While a history, the book draws lessons for activists thinking ahead to the next wave of constitutional change.
Please RSVP here, and we will email you the Zoom link!
The complete Spring 2020 schedule is available here
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