Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science
Yale University
Declaration of Independence:
Join us for the 6th Annual Honorable Steven E. Rau ’83 Memorial Lecture
Lecture and Panel Discussion
Reception
875 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55105
There is no fee to attend. Register by November 6th to reserve your spot.
Declaration of Independence:
From “Created Equal” to “Born Equal”
Join Mitchell Hamline for the 6th Annual Steven E. Rau ’83 Memorial Lecture and an engaging evening of history, constitutional inquiry, and conversation as we reflect on the enduring principles of equality and citizenship in America.
Exactly two-hundred and fifty years ago, America famously proclaimed that “all men are created equal.” Over the next few years, a grand American project to abolish slavery took flight in America’s northeast and America’s northwest. This year, Americans have once again debated large issues of creational equality and birth equality—this time in the context of a great debate over the meaning of birthright citizenship. Why did the Supreme Court decide this issue as it did in Trump v. Barbara? What would Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Washington, and Lincoln have thought about the current debate?
Professor Akhil Reed Amar will examine these and related questions though the lens of his recent book, Born Equal: Remaking America’s Constitution, 1840–1920.
Professor Amar’s presentation will be followed by a distinguished panel of legal scholars, retired judges, and practitioners who will examine the history, evolution, and constitutional questions surrounding birthright citizenship.
Keynote Speaker
Akhil Reed Amar
Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science
Yale University
Akhil Reed Amar is the Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, where he teaches constitutional law in both Yale College and Yale Law School.
Born Equal: Remaking America’s Constitution, 1840–1920
Keynote Speaker
Akhil Reed Amar
Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science
Yale University
Akhil Reed Amar is the Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, where he teaches constitutional law in both Yale College and Yale Law School. After graduating from Yale College, summa cum laude, in 1980 and from Yale Law School in 1984, and clerking for then Judge (later Justice) Stephen Breyer, Amar joined the Yale faculty in 1985 at the age of 26. He is Yale’s only living professor to have won the University’s unofficial triple crown: the Sterling Chair for scholarship, the DeVane Medal for teaching, and the Lamar Award for alumni service.
Amar’s work has won awards from both the American Bar Association and the Federalist Society, and he has been cited by Supreme Court justices across the spectrum in over fifty cases—tops among living scholars under age 70. He was an informal consultant to the popular TV show, The West Wing, and he has appeared on many broadcasts, including The Colbert Report, Morning Joe, AC360, C-SPAN Landmark Cases, Constitution USA with Peter Sagal, Tucker Carlson Tonight, and Fox News.
He is the author of more than a hundred law review articles and several books. The Words That Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840, came out in May 2021 and its sequel, Born Equal: Remaking America’s Constitution, 1840-1920 was published in mid-September 2025. Amar also has a free weekly podcast, Amarica’s Constitution. Amar’s op-eds and video links to many of his public lectures and free online courses may be found at akhilamar.com.
Distinguished Panel
Jason Marisam
Mitchell Hamline School of Law Professor
Edward J. Devitt Professorship
Teresa Nelson ’96
Legal Director, ACLU Minnesota
Mitchell Hamline School of Law Adjunct/Affiliated Professor
Michael Stokes Paulsen
Distinguished University Chair and Professor
University of St. Thomas School of Law
Join us for the 6th Annual Honorable Steven E. Rau ’83 Memorial Lecture
Register for the Lecture
Thursday, November 19, 2026
Lecture and Panel Discussion
Reception
Register by November 6.