Frederick Douglass, Free Speech, and the Promise of the Declaration

Join us for a powerful lecture with Professor Lucas Morel, one of the nation’s leading scholars on Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, as part of our programming to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Drawing on his new book, Measuring the Man: The Writings of Frederick Douglass on Abraham Lincoln, Professor Morel will explore Douglass’s reflections on Lincoln, the Declaration, and the enduring role of free speech in American democracy.

A nationally recognized authority on political philosophy and American history, Professor Morel has taught at Washington & Lee University since 1999 and serves on the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which is planning activities for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. He is a past president of the Abraham Lincoln Institute, a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society, and a former Garwood Visiting Research Fellow at Princeton’s James Madison Program. His scholarship and commentary have appeared in outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, and Richmond Times-Dispatch.

This timely event highlights Frederick Douglass’s timeless insights on liberty, equality, and free expression—and their vital importance for America today.

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Host or Publisher Menard Center for Constitutional Studies