March 7, 2000 Symposium on John Bingham and the 14th Amendment To Be Held March 20

Members of Congress and scholars will discuss the historical background and impact of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on Monday, March 20, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m, in the Members Room of the Jefferson Building, in a symposium open to the public.

The symposium marks the centennial anniversary on March 19 of the death of John Bingham, representative from Ohio, who was the primary author of Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment, which was ratified July 28, 1868, protects the privileges and immunities of citizens and guarantees due process of law and equal protection. It also, for the first time, defined national citizenship to include Blacks and provided the protection of the Federal government towards rights that might be invaded by the states.

Participants in the symposium will include Hon. Charles T. Canady, chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, U.S. House of Representatives; Professor Richard Aynes, C. Blake McDowell Law Center; Professor Akhil Reed Amar, Yale Law School; Professor Michael Curtis, Wake Forest University School of Law; and Professor John Harrison, University of Virginia Law School.