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The Other Declarations of 1776

10. Juni 2025

The Institute for Justice’s Center for Judicial Engagement and the Liberty and Law Center at Antonin Scalia Law School are organizing a conference under the title “The Other Declarations of 1776.”

Time: Friday, April 10, 2026
Place: Antonin Scalia Law School in Arlington, Virginia

Deadline for Paper Proposals: Monday, June 30, 2025

While 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, it also marks the anniversary of various new states issuing declarations of rights in conjunction with their new state constitutions. The conference will feature research, discussion, and debate that explores the history and ramifications of those “other” declarations of 1776.

The conference will consist of several sessions. This will include Dr. Nicholas Cole—of Oxford University’s Pembroke College and director of its Quill Project—as the keynote speaker. Dr. Cole will provide an overview of the “Other Declarations” and their legacy. The rest of the conference’s sessions will include a mix of scholars discussing papers they have written for the event and others invited to participate. It is planned to include space for a nontraditional session—such as a mock trial or argument—that brings the history and impact of the “Other Declarations” to life. The individual session topics will be chosen as papers are selected and we move closer to the conference. The organizers will work to give all the “Other Declarations” of 1776 their due, including those of Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, and others.

The organisers invite authors interested in exploring these and related topics to submit proposals for papers. They are looking for a journal where the papers will be published as a symposium. The number of papers published will depend on the quality of applications but the anticipation is to select approximately six. The writers are expected to attend the conference in person. Papers should be approximately 10,000 words and should address the history, meaning, and impact of state declarations of rights of 1776. It is encouraged to include their impact on the later development of judicial review and constitutional government. A non-exclusive list of suggested topics include the following, but additional topics are welcome:

  1. How cognizant were the framers of the “Other Declarations” of any break their new declarations and constitutions represented from parliamentary supremacy?

  2. When and how did the stirring words of an individual state’s declaration of rights come to be seen as a law that binds future legislatures?

  3. Did the framers of the “Other Declarations” see themselves in the tradition of the Glorious Revolution and the Declaration of Rights of 1689, or as a different method for a different age?

  4. Were “Other Declarations” an impetus for the development of judicial review in subsequent decades, or were later appeals to them in conjunction with judicial review a method of retrofitting history?

  5. How did the “original meaning” of certain provisions in the “Other Declarations” influence later constitution writing and interpretation?

  6. What was the relationship between the Declaration of Independence and the “Other Declarations”?

  7. More specifically, did Thomas Jefferson’s well-known cribbing of George Mason’s Virginia Declaration have a meaningful impact on subsequent constitutional history?

  8. How does the legacy of the “Other Declarations” differ from the Declaration of Independence and/or the federal Bill of Rights?

  9. Are there untold stories of contributions from the “Other Declarations” to later constitutional law—such as ancestors of the First and Fourth Amendments—that we should know about?

  10. What thinkers actually had an impact on the “Other Declarations”—such as Locke, Pufendorf, Montesquieu, Rousseau, etc.—or were their ideas not relevant to the more practical concerns of revolution?


Proposals can be submitted on the Website.

Reasonable travel and hotel expenses will be provided for those selected to write and present papers. International travel will be considered on a case-by-case basis but cannot be guaranteed. An honorarium of $2,500 will also be provided to selected paper authors.


Source: https://ij.org/event/the-other-declarations-of-1776/ (10.6.2025)