Some Assembly Required: Freedom of Association and the Right to Assembly
The Center for Constitutional Studies (CCS) at Utah Valley University hosted its annual First Amendment conference March 20 in the Clarke Building (CB) 101C on UVU campus.
Students, scholars, and the public attended the event entitled Some Assembly Required: Freedom of Association & the Right to Assembly.
This year’s conference examined the importance of voluntary associations in a free society and the protections afforded them in the First Amendment, including the oft-neglected Assembly Clause.
Sessions focused on Founding-era debates over the right to peaceable assembly and contemporary constitutional controversies over freedom of association in education, campaign finance, and charitable giving.
Featured presenters and panelists at the conference included the following:
- Bradley Smith, Professor of Law, Capital University Law School, and former chair of the Federal Elections Commission
- Carson Holloway, Professor of Political Science, University of Nebraska–Omaha
- Brad Wilson, Executive Director, James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton University.
- Luke Sheahan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Duquesne University
- Bill Duncan, Constitutional Law & Religious Freedom Fellow, Sutherland Institute
- Matthew Brogdon, Senior Director of the Center for Constitutional Studies and associate professor at Utah Valley University
“Freedom of association is foundational to our constitution,” said Brogdon. “We mistakenly think of First Amendment rights as individual rights. However, the freedoms to worship, to speak, to publish our views and to petition the government are rarely exercised alone. We do these things in community—in association with others—as members of churches, schools, publications, and networks of like-minded people.”
Conference Schedule
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
10 to 11:40 a.m. | CB 101 B & C | Panel: Freedom of Assembly at the Founding
- Carson Holloway, Professor of Political Science, University of Nebraska—Omaha
- Brad Wilson, Executive Director, James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton University
- Matthew Brogdon, Senior Director, UVU Center for Constitutional Studies (Moderator)
(10:50 a.m. – Short break to dismiss UVU students)
11:40 a.m. | Lunch Break
2 to 3 p.m. | CB 510 & 511 | Discussion: Free Association in a Pluralistic Society
- Bradley Smith, Professor of Law, Capital University Law School, and former chair of the Federal Election Commission
- Luke Sheahan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Duquesne University
- Bill Duncan, Constitutional Law & Religious Freedom Fellow, Sutherland Institute (Moderator)
3:30 to 5 p.m. | Timpanogos Room (FL 421) | Lyceum: Hamilton and Jefferson in Washington's Cabinet (for CCS staff, students, and invited guests)
- Discussion of primary-source readings from the Founding era, led by Carson Holloway and Brad Wilson (co-editors of The Political Writings of George Washington and The Political Writings of Alexander Hamilton (Cambridge University Press).