Programs for the General Public
The Claude Moore Lecture, which began in 2007, is an annual address to the public on the "State of the Constitution" in modern America and is intended to help focus public education, dialogue, and policy on the urgent need of sustaining and perpetuating the constitutional foundation of our nation. Click here to read transcripts of the 2007 lecture by Dr. John J. Patrick and the 2008 lecture by George Will. The 2009 lecture was delivered by Jon Meacham and the 2010 survey on the State of Constitution.
The Center for the Constitution at James Madison’s Montpelier offers evening courses in the fall and spring 
to all members of the general public. Past programs focused on the lives of James and Dolley Madison and their enormous contributions to the founding of our nation. Evening courses typically meet from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. in Lewis Hall, the Center’s teaching facilities on the grounds of Montpelier. Seminar content typically includes: the founding of our nation; who the founders were and what roles they played; the role of slavery in the founding; the tumultuous years following the Declaration of Independence; the Constitution and the ratification debates; Madison’s executive years as secretary of state and president; the Madisons’ retirement years at Montpelier; and the legacy they have left to us.
Join us for a weeklong seminar on the Constitution at the home of James and Dolley Madison. Programs begin on
Friday evening, and adjourn on Sunday afternoon. Six courses are offered each year, each with a distinctive perspective on American constitutionalism. Each of the Montpelier Seminars encompass a consistent core of knowledge about the principles of American constitutionalism — popular sovereignty, fundamental law, good government, full citizenship, and human liberty. They also highlight the systematic and persisting contrasts between Federalist and Antifederalist approaches to the Constitution. But each will approach these central concepts from a different angle, in order to highlight the various transformations achieved by the constitutional Founding. Tuition costs $699 for the weekend.
