Sharp clashes between traditionalist and progressive conceptions of the U.S. Constitution fuel the severe polarization that plagues contemporary American politics. Constitutional scholar Rogers M. Smith argues that despite their very real differences, both the traditionalist and progressive views are now parts of the text of the Constitution, and that the Reconstruction Amendments define constitutional goals and principles that can serve as common ground for both sides - if they are willing to seek common ground in order to move the nation forward.
Rogers M. Smith is the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Political Science at The University of Pennsylvania. He is the author or co-author of nine books and many articles, a past president of the American Political Science Association, the founding director of Penn’s Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy, and the co-founder of the Teachers Institute of Philadelphia. He received 5 prizes for undergraduate and graduate teaching during his university career and his book “Civic Ideals: Conflicting Visions of Citizenship in U.S. History” was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. |