What perhaps more than anything else distinguished the Revolution and Founding from European experience was the American transformation of the idea of a social contract from theory to practice. By focusing on the role of the social contract we can shed new light on the old question, "Was the American Revolution a revolution?" The enormous importance of the idea of a social contract in America after the revolutionary era can be tracked by studying, among other developments, the land reform movement or the uses of the Declaration of Independence, down to Martin Luther King's famous "I Have A Dream" speech of 1963. Mark Hulliung is Richard Koret Professor in the History of Ideas at Brandeis University.

Even if everyone agreed that the executive should have the power to meet emergencies, including the power to act in the silence of the law (and perhaps even against it), there would remain a question about whether a constitution should explicitly grant such a power. In what ways do Hamilton and Lincoln seem to agree in answering this question? Do Jefferson's letters, especially the one to Colvin, show that Jefferson offers an alternative to Hamilton and Lincoln? More broadly, how might this question illuminate Jefferson's earlier attempts to revise the Virginia Constitution? The Louisiana Purchase? Jeremy Bailey is assistant professor of political science at the University of Houston.

Even if everyone agreed that the executive should have the power to meet emergencies, including the power to act in the silence of the law (and perhaps even against it), there would remain a question about whether a constitution should explicitly grant such a power. In what ways do Hamilton and Lincoln seem to agree in answering this question? Do Jefferson's letters, especially the one to Colvin, show that Jefferson offers an alternative to Hamilton and Lincoln? More broadly, how might this question illuminate Jefferson's earlier attempts to revise the Virginia Constitution? The Louisiana Purchase? Jeremy Bailey is assistant professor of political science at the University of Houston.

The Hoover-Roosevelt Debate in the 1930s—the two faces of liberalism—shapes the public policy debates of the twenty-first century. The very questions that concerned them also concern us today. What should the public sector and private sector do to secure "the blessings of liberty and justice," in a regime dedicated to "equality of opportunity?" And if government should "do something" about "the problem," which level and which branch of government should do it? They had a decade-long debate that now dominates the American landscape: liberty versus security, freedom versus regulation, representative government versus the administrative state, the proper role of the judiciary, and the emergency powers of the presidency. These two sessions invite the participants to come to grips with the compelling intricacies of each argument that now dominates the American political and economic landscape. Gordon Lloyd is Professor of Public Policy in the graduate School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University.

The Hoover-Roosevelt Debate in the 1930s—the two faces of liberalism—shapes the public policy debates of the twenty-first century. The very questions that concerned them also concern us today. What should the public sector and private sector do to secure "the blessings of liberty and justice," in a regime dedicated to "equality of opportunity?" And if government should "do something" about "the problem," which level and which branch of government should do it? They had a decade-long debate that now dominates the American landscape: liberty versus security, freedom versus regulation, representative government versus the administrative state, the proper role of the judiciary, and the emergency powers of the presidency. These two sessions invite the participants to come to grips with the compelling intricacies of each argument that now dominates the American political and economic landscape. Gordon Lloyd is Professor of Public Policy in the graduate School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University.

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