The Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government (CCCG) hosted its second installation of the True Lectures from March 18–20. This year’s series featured Jud Campbell, Professor of Law and Helen L. Crocker Faculty Scholar at Stanford Law School. Campbell’s lectures dove into the history and legacy of natural rights in the U.S., from the founding to today.
The True Lecture series seeks to “foster the development of scholarly manuscripts on the principles and practices of American Constitutionalism,” according to the CCCG’s website. In 2024, the inaugural True Lectures were given by John Witte, Jr., Woodruff University Professor, McDonald Distinguished Professor, and Director of the Law and Religion Center at Emory University. Witte delivered two lectures on religious freedom in the American tradition, both of which can be viewed on the center’s website.
Anna Bradley, CCCG Assistant Director of Operations Engagement, told the Rover, “The inspiration for the True Lectures comes from the conviction that a serious education in citizenship requires engagement with the deepest questions of our constitutional tradition.”
Campbell’s three-day series was tightly united to this goal, with lectures entitled “Natural Rights at the Founding,” “Federalism and the Decline of Natural Rights,” and “The Legacy of Natural Rights.” The lectures took place across a variety of campus locations, including the Eck Visitors Center, the 1842 Club in Duncan Student Center, and the Main Building. The lectures concluded with Q&A sessions and receptions for attendees with hors d’oeuvres and refreshments.
Campbell’s resumé includes professorships at the University of Richmond, Harvard, New York University, and the University of Chicago law schools. His early career included clerkships on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second and Seventh Circuits. According to his biography on the Stanford Law website, Campbell’s scholarship “explores older ways of thinking about natural law, natural rights, and general fundamental law, illuminating broad shifts in how Americans have understood constitutional law.”
As he introduced the first lecture, CCCG Director Vincent Phillip Muñoz called the True Lectures the CCCG’s “preeminent academic event.” He added that Campbell was considered from the very beginning of the series in 2024. As Bradley told the Rover, Campbell’s approach to constitutionalism made him a good candidate for the True Lectures: “Jud Campbell was selected for his exceptional scholarship and his ability to illuminate the original meaning of the Constitution in ways that are both rigorous and accessible. This reflects the CCCG’s broader mission: to form students not only in knowledge, but in the habits of mind necessary for responsible citizenship.”
She continued, “We hope the lectures challenged students to think more carefully, more historically, and more critically about the principles that undergird American political life.”
Bradley estimated about 260 audience members across three days of lectures, with some repeat attendees. Eric Gordy, a senior who attended Campbell’s second address, told the Rover in writing, “Professor Campbell’s lectures on the history of natural rights in American jurisprudence were interesting and thought-provoking. … He provided a fascinating account of how the idea of certain general natural rights being protected under the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the 14th Amendment has gradually shifted to the protection of substantive rights under the doctrine of substantive due process.”
Gordy added, “This was particularly fascinating given the grounding of many landmark 14th amendment cases—Griswold, Roe, etc.—in the doctrine of substantive due process.”
The True Lecture series further highlighted the CCCG’s focus on the American founding as the center celebrates the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Upcoming events developing this theme include a symposium with the Catholic University of America on Catholicism and the founding, along with the continuation of the center’s course on the Declaration.
Haley Garecht is a senior studying political science, constitutional studies, and Irish studies. She’s sad to graduate soon but excited to reunite with her dog Kody. For photos showing how handsome he is, email hgarecht@nd.edu.