The Nation That Never Was: Reconstructing America’s Story, with Kermit Roosevelt

In his groundbreaking book, The Nation That Never Was: Reconstructing America’s Story, Professor Kermit Roosevelt III, University of Pennsylvania School of Law professor, argues that our idea of the Founders’ America and its values is not true. He believes we are not the heirs of the Founders, but we can be the heirs of Reconstruction and its vision for equality. He offers a powerful and inspirational rethinking of our country’s history and uncovers a shared past that we can be proud to claim and use as a foundation to work toward a country that fully embodies equality for all. This alternate understanding of American identity opens the door to a new understanding of ourselves and our story, and ultimately to a better America.

Join us as Roosevelt rethinks how American history is viewed, and how the ideas underpinning the country have shifted in the past two centuries—and along with it, what it means to be American.

Copies of Roosevelt’s book will available at the event, courtesy of our friends at River Bend Bookshop.

$5 CMCH members, $10 non-members; $8 for seniors. Light refreshments will be provided. Purchase tickets here, or you may purchase at the door. Includes admission to the museum galleries — come early to view!

Questions? Contact Adult Programs Manager Natalie Belanger via email at natalie_belanger@chs.org, or call (860) 236-5621 x289.

About Our Speaker

Roosevelt is the David Berger Professor for the Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law. He is a graduate of Yale Law School, and clerked for Supreme Court Justice David Souter. He is an advisory board member for the National Constitution Center’s Coalition of Freedom, and a Distinguished Research Fellow of the Annenberg Public Policy Center. He contributes to major media outlets including TIME, the New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, and NPR, and is a frequent guest on national and international TV and radio programs. Roosevelt works in a diverse range of fields, focusing on constitutional law and conflict of laws. He has published scholarly books and articles and is also the author of two novels.