Podcast: A constitutional history of the Republican Party
Lincoln by George Peter Alexander Healy (1869) (credit: White House Historical Association)
Producer’s Note: This episode is the second part of a three-part series on political parties and the Constitution. Listen to Part I.
Formed in the wake of the Whig Party’s breakup in the mid-1800s, the Republican Party held its first national convention in 1856. Since then, the party has been home to many of our greatest Presidents—among them Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan—and has played an important role in shaping our understanding of the Constitution.
Joining We the People to discuss the constitutional history of the GOP are two experts on American history and constitutional law.
David French is a constitutional lawyer and staff writer at National Review, and former president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. David participated in a symposium on religious liberty at the Center in September 2015; you can watch that program on constitutioncenter.org or listen to it on our companion podcast, Live at America’s Town Hall.
Michael Gerhardt is the Samuel Ashe Distinguished Professor in Constitutional Law at the University of North Carolina, and a scholar-in-residence at the Center. You can find the many programs Mike has been a part of at constitutioncenter.org and on Live at America’s Town Hall.
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This show was engineered by Jason Gregory and produced by Nicandro Iannacci. Research was provided by Josh Waimberg and Tom Donnelly. The host of We the People is Jeffrey Rosen.
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