How has the role of government in everyday life changed throughout our nation's history? Today, a deep and historically inflected debate is raging over the legitimacy of American bureaucracy. As context for that controversy, this seminar will trace the constitutional history of the U.S. administrative state, starting with the Founding and the early Republic and moving through the Civil War and Reconstruction; the Progressive Era; and the rise and fall of the New Deal order.  The seminar will trace evolution in the separation of powers, focusing on the development of federal regulatory power, legislative delegations of authority to the bureaucracy, and struggles over political control of administrators.

The New-York Historical Society's Bonnie and Richard Reiss Graduate Institute for Constitutional History (ICH) announces the 2022 Seminar. This fall's seminar will trace the constitutional history of the U.S. administrative state, starting with the Founding and the early Republic and moving through the Civil War and Reconstruction; the Progressive Era; and the rise and fall of the New Deal order.

Topic: "American Bureaucracy and the Constitution, from the Founding Era to the Post New Deal"

Meeting Dates & Time: Fridays, November 18, December 2 and 9, 2022 | 2–5 pm ET; and Friday, December 16, 2022 | 3–6 pm ET

Meeting Location: The seminar will be presented in person at the New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024*
*Although we encourage students to attend the class in person, livestream participation will be offered to admitted students who do not live in the New York Metropolitan Area or who are unable to attend a class in person.

Instructors: Gillian Metzger, Harlan Fiske Stone Professor of Constitutional Law at Columbia Law School and co-director of Columbia’s Center for Constitutional Governance; Nicholas R. Parrillo, Townsend Professor of Law and professor of history at Yale

The ICH seminar is produced twice per year and designed for graduate students, junior faculty, and other educators, in history, political science, law, and related disciplines. There is no tuition or other charge for this seminar.

Application deadline: October 7, 2022

More information about the seminar and how to apply can be found here: https://www.nyhistory.org/education/institute-for-constitutional-history/current-programs.