ABA Division for Public Education

When the Constitutional Convention convened in Philadelphia on this day in 1787, the situation was urgent. The weak government organized under the Articles of Confederation was being pulled apart by crises in the states, to which it did not have the power to respond.

Among those who sought to centralize power within a new federal government—and who would eventually lead the charge in the ratification of the Constitution by the states—was a junior delegate from the state of New York: Alexander Hamilton.

Despite being one of its strongest advocates, Hamilton did not attend the entire four-month Constitutional Convention; he was outvoted by the other two New York delegates, who did not share Hamilton's enthusiasm for a strong federal government to unite the thirteen states. In these early years after the revolution, the former colonists were just beginning to understand how to operate outside the confines of British rule.

📸: "Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States" by Howard Chandler Christy, 1940. On display in the U.S. Capitol.

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, join us June 1 as ABA President Michelle A. Behnke delivers the welcome remarks at a CLE that explores how constitutional principles apply differently to tribal nations and U.S. territories. The webinar will touch on historical doctrines and ongoing debates over sovereignty, representation and the meaning of democracy.

Register today:
https://bit.ly/4uoIZl6

The Japanese American National Museum & the Fight to Preserve Democracy
📅 Premiere: Thursday, May 28, 2026
🕰️ Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
📺 Format: CRSJ Chair Chat, premiere to YouTube

Join Wendy Shiba and Ann Burroughs for a timely conversation on the role of the Japanese American National Museum in defending civil rights, preserving historical memory, and confronting modern threats to democracy. Reflecting on the legacy of Japanese American incarceration during World War II, the discussion explores how museums serve not only as cultural institutions, but as essential civic spaces where history, truth, and democratic values are protected.

The conversation examines JANM’s public stance against efforts to erase or whitewash history, the growing challenges facing museums and cultural institutions, and the importance of preserving collective memory in the face of rising authoritarianism, xenophobia, and attacks on civil rights. Panelists also discuss the museum’s Democracy Center, contemporary parallels to past injustices, and JANM’s ongoing work to foster civic engagement, dialogue, and solidarity across communities.

📢 Speakers
💠 Ann Burroughs – President and CEO, Japanese American National Museum and Daniel K. Inouye National Center for the Preservation of Democracy
💠 Wendy Shiba (Moderator) – Chair, ABA Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Member, JANM Board of Trustees

📺 WATCH HERE ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR0VUL4iYVk

➡️ Did you miss this?

Early Bird registration rates are now available for the 106th NCSS Annual Conference. Come Celebrate Social Studies 365 in Chicago! https://hubs.li/Q04hv5cF0

On the night of May 24, 1856, John Brown and his men kidnapped and killed five pro-slavery settlers at Pottawatomie Creek in Kansas.

Three days prior, a posse of 800 Southerners surrounded the free soil capital of Lawrence, Kansas, flying a blood-red flag inscribed with "Southern Rights." Inhabitants fled as they attacked the town.

In Washington, abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner decried the spread of slavery to Kansas. In response, South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks beat Sumner with the head of his cane on the floor of the United States Senate. Sumner would never fully recover.

Newspapers across the South celebrated the assault, but when news of the incident reached John Brown's encampment in Kansas, he and his followers were enraged. When someone urged caution, Brown replied, "Caution, caution ... It is nothing but the word of cowardice."

The Pottawatomie massacre was just one episode in a period of violence that would come to be known as "Bleeding Kansas."

🗺️: 1856 map depicting slave states, free states, and territories, with the Kansas Territory in the center. (Library of Congress)

Stare Decisis is a Latin term meaning “let the decision stand” or “to stand by things decided,” and it is a foundational concept in American law. Here is how it works and what it means in practice: https://bit.ly/3LIHi0N

As the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the ABA reflects on how lawyers drafted and shaped this foundational document. Of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, 25 were lawyers. Join us in celebrating: https://bit.ly/4vLvTiM

Lincoln and Taney’s great writ showdown | Constitution Center On May 28, 1861, Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney directly challenged President Abraham Lincoln’s wartime suspension of the great writ of...

https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2026/05/aba-announces-2026-silver-gavel-winners/

ABA announces eight winners of the 2026 Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts WASHINGTON, May 20, 2026 —Jailhouse lawyering, social media, equal rights, pardons, debt, appeals, birthright citizenship and same-sex marriage took the top honors for the 2026 American Bar Association Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts.

How Pauli Murray Masterminded Brown v. Board This post is part of our forum on Black Women and the Brown v. Board of Education decision According to her autobiography, Song in a Weary Throat, Pauli Murray entered Howard University Law School in 1941 with the sole intention of ending Jim Crow. The Hunter College graduate spent much of