We were pleased to hear from Rabbi Meir Soloveichik as he discussed Jewish influences on the American founding. When the United States was founded, there were very few Jews in America; nevertheless, George Washington had a remarkable series of written interactions with them. A careful study of this story reveals the way in which Washington himself saw America, what Jewish hopes were for this new nation, and what this tale can teach us about the future of faith in America.

Watch Dr. Paul Carrese's full remarks from his September 19, 2024 lecture.

Winners from the Constitution Day Essay contest were announced and had the opportunity to read their submissions with commentary by Wheatley constitutional fellow Bradley Rebeiro. The essay contest and the event are also co-sponsored by the BYU Law School and College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences.

Wheatley Fellow Thomas B. Griffith was recently interviewed by the University of Virginia's Karsh Institute of Democracy about the constitutional implications of the recent speed and quantity of executive orders coming from the Oval Office.

Wheatley Fellow Thomas B. Griffith wrote an article for the Deseret News about the importance of mantaining public trust in the nonpartisan nature of federal courts, especially when disagreements arise over contentious political issues. He warns that questioning judicial impartiality based solely on disagreement with court decisions is a serious danger to both the judges in question and the Constitution.

This year marks the tenth fielding of the American Family Survey, a collaborative effort between the Wheatley Institute and Center for the Study of Elections and Democrat at Brigham Young University and the Deseret News.