Ninth Annual Constitution Day Lecture - “Faith and Freedom: Hidden Lessons from the Founding Fathers”
To watch the lecture, visit: https://youtu.be/iV0PX3fLftQ
“Faith and Freedom: Hidden Lessons from the Founding Fathers”
Andrew Porwancher
Wick Cary Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma
Tuesday, September 17th, 2019
7:30 pm
UC Auditorium
Sponsored by the UTC Center for Reflective Citizenship, the College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies, and Hamilton Flourishing.
The public is invited and refreshments will be served.
At the dawn of the Republic, the founders debated the proper role of faith in American civic life. Which rights should be extended to religious minorities? What is the appropriate relationship between church and state? Does the Establishment Clause require their separation? Or can religious liberty flourish alongside government support for faith? This lecture will explore how the towering figures of the founding period grappled with these questions—and how their answers can help us navigate the challenges of faith and freedom in modern America. – Andrew Powancher
In 2004, the U.S. Congress passed bipartisan legislation authorizing September 17th, the date in 1787 that delegates to the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention signed the U.S. Constitution, as an official holiday. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Education authorized that any educational institution receiving federal funds should host educational activities during the week of the Constitution’s birthday.
Past UTC Constitution Day lectures have featured nationally and internationally known scholars and teachers: Josiah Bunting, James Ceaser, Bradley Birzer, Michael Federici, Wilfred McClay, Richard Gamble, David Bobb, and Gary Gregg. The general public, the UTC community, and educators and students from a variety of schools and colleges in the region are cordially invited to attend. A brief biography of Andrew Powancher is included below.
Andrew Porwancher is the Wick Cary Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma, where he teaches Constitutional History. Porwancher previously held the Garwood Fellowship at Princeton and Horne Fellowship at Oxford. He earned his PhD in History from Cambridge, his Master’s Degree from Brown, and his Bachelor’s from Northwestern, summa cum laude. Currently, Porwancher is at work on his third book, The Jewish Life of Alexander Hamilton, which is under contract with Harvard University Press. His earlier works include The Devil Himself: A Tale of Honor, Insanity, and the Birth of Modern America, which was published by Oxford University Press in 2016 and is currently being adapted into a theatrical production.
For other information about the event, including reserved seating for groups and individuals, please contact Jeffrey Melnik, [email protected], 423-425-2118.
* In 2018, the lecture series title was changed to honor the life of Dr. Richard Gruetzemacher and his love of history and civic education. For further information about the Richard Gruetzemacher Constitution Day Lecture Fund, please visit: