On September 4, 2025, the Clough Center officially launched the programs of the 2025-’26 academic year with the event “What the Constitution Means to Us.” This event featured Shannon Bream, who delivered a speech drawing on her extensive experience as a chief legal correspondent and host of Fox News Sunday.
In the beginning, Professor Jonathan Laurence, Clough Center Director, introduced the agenda of the Clough Center during the academic year of 2025-26, which will be focused on the theme of Democratic Resilience.
Prof. Laurence’s remarks were followed by readings by Clough Center Doctoral Fellows and Junior Fellows. Each discussed a different aspect of this foundational document. They emphasized key points for which the Constitution acts as a basis, including the freedom of speech, equality and citizenship rights, a framework for the institutions of democracy, and the responsibility to protect freedom.
Marc Landy, Political Science Professor at Boston College, also spoke and highlighted the durability of the Constitution. Youssef Chahed, Visiting Fellow at the Clough and a former Prime Minister of Tunisia (2016-2020), underscored the importance of accountability among political elites as one of the conditions of a stable democracy.
Following the introductory talks, Shannon Bream provided an overview of the Constitution’s history. Bream centered her speech on how the Constitution has stood the test of time, pointing out that the amendment process has laid the groundwork for the resilience of the Constitution and adaptability to unknown challenges. Thus far, Congress, together with the states, has added 27 amendments to the Constitution. She remarked that the amendment process is a system that the Constitution drafters foresaw when they crafted this document.
Bream stated that as new circumstances arise, the court system is charged with safeguarding our fundamental liberties. Bream also touched on the philosophical underpinnings of the Constitution. For example, free speech is one of the main protections laid out in the First Amendment, and it was drafted by James Madison, drawing on Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke.
Bream concluded her speech with responses to the questions from the audience. The full video of the event, including Bream’s speech, can be found via this link on the Clough Center’s YouTube Channel.
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