On Thursday, September 19, Professor Derek Webb delivered a Constitution Day lecture at the University of Wisconsin, Madison Law School, titled "The Spirit of Amity: The Constitution's Forgotten Cover Letter and the Original Meaning of Civility." Drawing insights from his upcoming book on George Washington’s transmittal letter presenting the U.S. Constitution to Congress, Professor Webb examined what Washington meant by “the spirit of amity” — a quality Washington deemed “indispensable” for the Constitution's creation given what he called the “peculiarity of our political situation.” Webb delved into the significance of this concept for the founding generation, its impact during pivotal and colorful moments in the debates surrounding the Constitution's formation and ratification, and how it provides both a window into the founding moment and a mirror by which to assess our own moment.

Professor Webb’s Constitution Day talk was co-sponsored by the University of Wisconsin School of Law, the Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy, the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership, and the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America's Founding Principles and History. The discussion centered around a book that Professor Webb has under contract with Cambridge University Press, which Justice Gorsuch referenced in his own recent work, Over Ruled.