The American founders framed a republic reliant on citizens both knowing our constitutional
system and feeling a responsibility to engage in civic life.
To promote and enrich understanding about our constitutional republic and inspire
healthy civic participation, the Center for Constitutional Studies (CCS) at Utah Valley
University (UVU) hosts a community book club.
Meeting every few months and open to all, these constitutional conversations are facilitated
by a faculty or staff member from CCS.
Next meeting
- Thursday, November 30, 2023, noon to 1:15 p.m.
- In person on UVU campus in Fulton Library (FL) 120.
- Remote attendance via YouTube.
- Box lunch provided for in-person attendees (RSVP required).
- Discussion will focus on The Words that Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760–1840, by Akhil Amar, Part II (pp. 151–271) .
- Facilitated by Dr. Robert Burton, director of the Civic Thought & Leadership Initiative.
Background on Book Selection
During Sharon McMahon’s recent visit to UVU, she highly recommended Akhil Amar’s most recent book, The Words that Made Us. The first of three intended volumes, this work explores the passionate arguments
over the nature of government at the creation of the Constitution, at its ratification,
and at its first interpretations in the new republic.
In Amar’s words, the book shows how “various widely scattered New Worlders first became
Americans and then continued to debate and refine what being American meant.”
While the Nov. 30 discussion will cover only Part II (pp. 151-271), we recommend reading
Part I on American Independence for context.
Discussion Questions for Nov. 30
- How did early state constitutions and the Articles of Confederation lay the groundwork
for the United States Constitution and inform the deliberations of the framers? - What were the most innovative features of the Constitution? How did it depart from
previous attempts at republican government and previous experiments with federal systems? - Which delegates to the Constitutional Convention most deeply influenced the Constitution?
- In the ratification debates, what were the principal complaints of Anti-Federalist
opponents of ratification? - Why did Federalists win ratification despite their electoral disadvantage going into
the state ratifying conventions?
Upcoming Dates and Topics
Inspiration for CCS Book Club
Book clubs were a fixture of civic life for colonial Americans. For example, on a
ship bound for the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634, reformer Anne Hutchinson organized
a female discussion group to examine weekly sermons.
In 1727, Benjamin Franklin founded the Junto Club, whose members pooled their books
to create a library where they could meet weekly to discuss them in light of the issues
of the day.
Hannah Mather Crocker organized a female reading society in Boston in 1778 to study
science and read the belles lettres, or the salient literary works available at the time.
In that same spirit of discussion and learning that abounded in the founding era,
the CCS Book Club seeks to bring people and books together to better understand and
appreciate the threads of history, philosophy, government, and citizenship woven into
the national fabric and what they call us to do today.
