“Let Facts Be Submitted To A Candid World”: Celebrating Constitution Day with Yale Law Professor Akhil Reed Amar

Abigail Readlinger
‘27

Facing an audience of nearly four hundred Princetonians—clad patriotically in a pair of Old Glory socks and a tie boasting the text of the Declaration of Independence—Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale Law School, Akhil Reed Amar, delivered a spirited address in celebration of Constitution Day.

Presented by Princeton University Public Lectures and co-sponsored by both the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and the Program in Law and Normative Thinking, the university’s Annual Constitution Day lecture endeavors to both commemorate and further appreciate our foundational documents. This year, Professor Amar’s lecture, entitled “America at 250: From ‘Created Equal’ to Birthright Citizenship, fell nothing short of expectations.

With animated speech and sincerity of heart, Professor Amar encouraged students to honor Constitution day by “thinking about each other.” Despite political or ideological differences (Amar himself is a liberal) the promises of the Constitution are shared among us all. Indeed, the very first line of the preamble, in its all-too-familiar majestic black font, that famous phrase “We the People,” is an invitation for each of us to participate in the great American project. “We don’t have alot in common,” Professor Amar laments, “but we all do have to understand our Constitution.” And, in understanding so, we will find what we do. Furthermore, in recognition of this common identity, we must act with both honesty and receptivity. “Thinking about each other” necessitates more than mere thoughts—it necessitates our ability to hear, to listen, and to respond.

This conclusion, however, is made only after Professor Amar expands on another founding document, The Declaration of Independence.

In an homage to the ultimate hero of his lecture, President Lincoln, Professor Amar began with the words, “12 score and 10 years ago, our Founders declared independence.” On July 2nd, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was held to vote, and just two days later, finally approved. It was here that yet another set of remarkable little words—All Men are Created Equal—were enshrined in American history. 

Yet, as Professor Amar reminds us, the remaining portion of the document is no less remarkable. Even, and especially not the twenty-seven grievances against the Crown.

The Founders required a justification for their separation, and according to Professor Amar, the list of grievances allowed them to say, “Here are the reasons we are doing what we are doing.” And while each abuse eroded attachment to the Crown, the last abuse provoked the final sever. The English Parliament had been deaf to the voice of justice. They had refused to listen. And in acknowledging their common equality, the colonies insisted on being heard. 

Represented as such, this list of grievances becomes intimately and inseparably united to the principle that all men are created equal. The Creator has endowed each and every man with certain unalienable Rights, so should Justice require that no Right be infringed, impeded, or ignored.

Be that as it may, as Professor Amar points out, neither the signing of the Declaration of Independence nor the ratification of the Constitution produced a society where all men received all their rights. How then, he asks, are we to perceive the founding idea that all men are created equal? 

As promised, Professor Amar returns to Lincoln. According to the President, the principle that all men are created equal was a proposition to which the nation had dedicated itself. Dedicated, not in the sense that the proposition would always be realized, but rather, that it would always be honestly and earnestly pursued. Professor Amar expands on this argument, claiming that “All Men are Created Equal” is the “true north” of the American project. Keeping such an ideal in mind most effectively ensures the progression of equality continues. Finally touching on birthright citizenship, Amar cites the 14th amendment, as well as the 13th, 15th, and 19th amendments, as evidence for the evolution and realization of a common equality.

Despite such progress, and even despite the Supreme Court’s recent reaffirmation of birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara, Professor Amar reminds his audience that the evolution of equality has not yet finished. Referencing Lincoln again, he insists that all equality must be “put on the path of ultimate extinction.” 

Professor Amar closed his time with an earnest appeal. He asked that we, especially the younger generation, “learn and read.” He asked that we both “understand our history” and also “understand each other.” And perhaps, in asking this, Professor Amar ultimately asked us to learn from our Founders. The primary abuse listed in the Declaration of Independence is that of turning a deaf ear to justice. In the here and now, there is no English Parliament. And yet we ourselves, yes, “We The People,”  are still more than capable of silencing and ignoring the voices around us. The Founders recognized a principle of equality which refused to accept such behavior. So too must we do the same. 

One need not agree with Professor Amar’s view on birthright citizenship to acknowledge that if all men are created equal, each has a right to be seen and to be heard. If we are to stay “true north,” we will think and act in recognition of our remarkable shared identity.

As Princetonians, our history is inextricably linked with that of the Founding. In honor of both these legacies, we are compelled to pursue our own ideas with honesty and vigor, while also receiving the ideas of others with humility and grace. The Declaration says it best as it proclaims, “Let facts be submitted to a candid world.”  I can only hope that we, in this town, may be part of that world.

Abigail Readlinger ‘27 is a Senior in the Politics department from Princeton, NJ. She is a PFS Writing Fellow.