RECENT LECTURES
December 8, 2009 at the John F. Kennedy-Institut für Nordamerlkastudien, Berlin, Germany
presented “Civil Liberties in the Age of Terrorism”
December 7, 2009 at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, Berlin, Germany
presented at a conference titled "Terrorism in the Transatlantic Context: Cultural and Economic Implications and Solutions"
December 6, 2009 at Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
presented "Was the Abolitionist John Brown America's First Terrorist?"
December 2, 2009
gave public lecture sponsored by the city of Akron to commemorate the execution of John Brown on Dec. 2, 1859
Nov. 20, 2009 at the Temple Beth Shalom, Albany, NY
gave scholars lecture on the first Jews in New Amsterdam
November 18, 2009
participated in Oral Defense of honors thesis at University of Pittsburgh
Nov.12-14, 2009 at Columbia University, New York, NY
presented on Dutch New York
October 27-30, 2009
Scholar-in-Residence at Mississippi State University, sponsored by African American Studies Program
October 24, 2009 at Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
presented "The Great Emancipator as Lawyer" at The National Abolition Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
October 20, 2009 at Cardozo Law School Constitution Center, New York, NY
presented on Ten Commandments cases
October 15-18, 2009
150th Commemoration of John Brown's Raid
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia
Noted John Brown scholars Prof. Finkelman and Dr. Evan Carton made presenations for a discussion titled "John Brown's Place in History"
Harpers Ferry looks back
By Daniel Malloy, Post-Gazette Washington Bureau
October 14, 2009
on NBC News and other television programs, after helping gain posthumous pardon for Tom Griffin and Meeks Griffin - the first posthumous pardon ever given in South Carolina
October 3, 2009
Wheaton, Illinois
Prof. Finkelman will speak on John Brown and the attack at Harpers Ferry at the 12th Annual Civil War Symposium to be held at the First Division Museum at Cantigny
September 30-Oct.1, 2009
ran the Government Law Review annual symposium at Albany Law School
Sept. 17, 2009 at the Alexander Hamilton Institute at Hamilton College, Hamilton, NY
presented on Slavery and the Constitution
Sept. 11, 2009
spoke at Teaching American History Workshop in Rockford, IL
August 19-22, 2009
participated in invited symposium at the T.R.R. Cobb House in Athens, GA on the life and work of Cobb, who was the primary author of the Confederate Constitution
August 10-14, 2009
spoke at the Teaching American History Summer Program, Vancouver, WA
Aug. 4-6, 2009
spoke at the Gilder Lehrman Teaching American History Program, Moore, OK
July 14, 2009
spoke at the Gilder Lehrman Institute on American History, New York, NY
July 5-9, 2009
spoke at the Teaching American History Summer Program, Elmira, NY
June 25-27, 2009 at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati, OH
presented "How the Civil Rights Movement Saved the Constitution"
June 19, 2009 at West Virginia University Law School, Morgantown, WV
gave public lecture on John Brown
May 15, 2009 at Yale University
atteneded working group on the law of slavery
May 8, 2009
Frederick Community College, Frederick, Maryland
Prof. Finkelman presented "Lincoln, Emancipation, and the Problem of Chief Justice Taney" at the Symposium:
"Only Two Sides to the Question"
May 4, 2009
Baruch College, New York City, New York
Prof. Finkelman was part of the panel Race and the Constitution at the Free Institutions Program of the Baruch College School of Public Affairs conference:
"Is the American Constitution Obsolete?"
May 2, 2009 at the Hudson Library and Historical Society, Hudson, OH
panel member at the "John Brown Symposium: Hero or Madman?"
May 1, 2009 at the US Capitol Historic Society, Washington, D.C.
presented at a conference titled "Lincoln's Washington: Abraham Lincoln in Congress and the Presidency"
April 28, 2009, Law Day 2009, Washington, D.C.
featured speaker at the Law Day Breakfast Seminar for Close Up Teachers
April 24, 2009
Boston, Massachussets
Prof. Finkelman presented "Darwin and the Law" at the Boston Colloquium for Philosophy of Science symposium:
Darwin's impact on the United States"
April 20, 2009 at Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
spoke at the memorial symposium for the late John Hope Franklin. Panelists included Cornell West and Stanley N. Katz
April 15-18, 2009 at University of Chicago School of Law, Chicago, IL
presented "Emancipation, Slavery, and the Central Meaning of the Civil War: Understanding Who Freed the Slaves"
April 1-3, 2009 at Valparisio Law School, Valparaiso, IN
presented at a conference on Civil Liberties and International Law
March 31, 2009
Wilton Historical Society
The Age of Lincoln Lecture Series
Professor Finkelman presented "The Great Emancipator as Lawyer", covering the legal issues associated with Lincoln's war measures, especially the Emancipation Proclamation
March 28, 2009 at the Organization of American Historians annual convention, Seattle, WA
commented on presented papers
March 25, 2009 at the NY Public Library for Gilder Lehrman Institute, New York, NY
presented on How the Supreme Court Discovered the Bill of Rights
March 17-19, 2009
W.E.B. DuBois Institute for African and African American Research, Harvard University
Nathan I. Higgins Lecture Series
Professor Finkelman delivered a series of lectures on "The Supreme Court and the Peculiar Institution: Marshall, Story, Taney, and the Defense of Slavery"
For photos from the lecture and the complete webcast, please visit the W.E.B. DuBois Institute website.
March 5, 2009
The Massachusetts Historical Society
Boston Early American History Seminar
Professor Finkelman was the commentator on Kevin Sweeney's presentation titled "The Military, Political and Religious Origins of Regional Gun Cultures in Early America, 1620-1800"
February 28, 2009
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Reconsidering the African American Community: Third Annual New Perspectives on African American History and Culture Conference Professor Finkelman was the commentator on the panel "Law and the Courts"
February 26, 2009
Thurgood Marshall School of Law Lecture Series
Professor Finkelman gave a presentation titled "Obama's Lincoln"
February 24, 2009
University of Mary Washington "Great Lives" Lecture Series
Professor Finkleman delivered a presentation on John Brown as part of the University of Mary Washington's 2009 Chappell Lecture Series
Feb. 18, 2009 at Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas
presented on Lincoln and Emancipation
February 18, 2009
Professor Finkelman is a guest on "Lawyer to Lawyer", a legal podcast, to discuss the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president, on his 200th birthday.
Listen to the entire podcast at LegalTalkNetwork
Feb. 12, 2009 at Case Western Reserve Law School, Cleveland, OH
presented on Lincoln and Emancipation
February 11, 2009
Cleveland, Ohio
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Prof. Finkelman gave a presentation titled "The Great Emancipator as Lawyer".
Visit the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable website for more information and the 2009 Roundtable Program Schedule.
February 10, 2009
Youngstown State University
Prof. Finkelman gave two free lectures; the first titled, "Are the Ten Commandments the Moral Foundation of American Law?", and the second titled, "The Great Emancipator as Lawyer: How Lincoln Ended Slavery" in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.
Click here for more info.
February 6, 2009
Chicago, IL
Prof. Finkelman gave a lecture at the Seventh Circuit Bar Association Symposium: "Abraham Lincoln - His Legal Career and His Vision for America"
January 29, 2009
Washington State University
Prof. Finkelman gave two public lectures; the first titled "US Policy on Asian Immigration: The Chinese Exclusion Act & Gentleman's Agreement" and the socond titled "Law in the Swervice of Evil: How Southern Lawyers and Judges Defended Slavery."
January 16, 2009
Albany, NY
Professor Finkelman delivered a presentation on "Abraham Lincoln, Slavery, and Jewish History" to the Congregation B'nai Sholom.
October 24 - 25, 2008
Louisville, Kentucky
"Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis: Two Visions of America"
Prof. Finkelman will convene this two-day academic conference that will examine the competing visions of the United States that developed in the antebellum era.
October 18, 2008
Chicago, Illinois
11th Annual Civil War Symposium
Prof. Finkelman will give a presentation on the Emanciaption Proclamation as a War Measure
October 1 - 3, 2008
Prof. Finkelman is the co-director of the Albany Government Law Review Symposium titled "God and the Land: Conflicts Over Land Use and Religious Freedom" at Albany Law School
September 25, 2008
Vancouver, Washington
The History Programs service of ESD 112
In a program of true topical relevance, Professor Finkelman linked three presidencies, the Supreme Court, Congress, the banks, and the US Constitution, demonstrating the value of studying the episode with students completing the "Checks and Balances" CBA.
September 20, 2008
The President James Buchanan National Symposium, Lancaster, PA
Prof. Finkelman will be a panel member for the session titled, 1857: A Turning Point in American History
September 10, 2008
Central Michigan University
Constitution Day Colloquium
Prof. Finkelman will give a presentation titled "The Great Emancipator as Lawyer"
July 28, 2008
Prof. Finkelman opened of the third week of a teachers' institute held at Colgate University with a discussion and lecture on abolitionism and the Underground Railroad.
June 27, 2008
SHAFR 2008 Annual Meeting, Columbus Ohio
"The Supreme Court and the expansion of Federal Power, 1801-1812"
May 22, 2008
Krefeld Historical Symposium, Krefeld, Germany
Comments on the conference session titled Religion, Power and Legitimate Rule
April 25, 2008, Washington, DC
Conference Director, "Congress and the Crisis of the 1850s" and Keynote Speech, "A Decade In Crisis: The 1850s"
April 24, 2008, Towson University
"America and the Abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade: A Bicentennial Perspective, 1808-2008"
April 22, 2008, Youth Law Day, Albany Law School
Presentation on Baseball and the Law
April 17, 2008, Spokane, WA
"A Well Regulated Militia: The Original Meaning of the Second Amendment"
April 4, 2008, Vanderbilt University Law School
Presentation on the Civil War Era, John McLean
March 31, 2008, Jamestown, NY
Lectured at the Teaching American History Day Inservice "Walk in My Shoes"
March 26, 2008, New York, NY
"Hamilton, Lafayette, and the Perils of Revolution"
March 15, 2008, Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley
Presented at SALT Annual Teaching Conference, Teaching for Social Change
March 14, 2008, University of Ottawa, Canada
"Ending the Slave Trade in the United States: The Limits of Law and Reform Under the Proslavery Constitution"
March 7, 2008, Salzburg, Austria
Presented Lead Paper at 2nd Global conference "Evil, Law & the State"
Feb. 13, 2008, Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, Ill.
"Regulating the African Slave Trade"
Jan. 29, 2008, Beloit College, Beloit, Wis.
"The Closing of the African Slave Trade, 1808-2008"
Jan. 22, 2008, Phillips Theological Seminary, Tulsa, Okla.
"Religion, Science and the Defense of Slavery: How Southern Ministers, Doctors, and Scientists Shaped American Thought"
January 10, 2008, University of Toledo College of Law
"Affirmative Action for the Master Class: Slavery and the Creation of the American Constitution"
December 14, 2007, Yale University
"Congress and the Slave Trade: A long and Winding Road"
Nov. 16, 2007, Penn State, University Park, Penn.
""Suppressing the African Slave Trade: The Limits of Legislation, 1794-1865"
November 15, 2007, Indiana State Library
"Slavery, the Courts, and the Underground Railroad"
October 25, 2007, Arizona State University
"Was Dred Scott Decided Correctly?"
October 23, 2007, Brigham Young University
Presented at "Educational Choice: Emerging Legal and Policy Issues"
October 9, 2007, Seattle University School of Law
"Was Dred Scott Decided Correctly?"
September 30, 2007, Albany Law School's Alumni Weekend
"Baseball and the Rule of Law"
September 6, 2007, William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, Minn.
"Was Dred Scott Decided Correctly?"
August 23, 2007
Professor Finkelman is a guest on "Lawyer to Lawyer", a legal podcast, to discuss what is new in Baseball Law, the reputation of Major League Baseball and preferential treatment of baseball players.
Listen to the entire podcast at LegalTalkNetwork.
April 18, 2007
University of Tulsa College of Law
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Professor Finkelman gave the Buck Franklin Memorial Lecture: "A Covenant With Death: The Constitution, Slavery, and the Problem of Equality in America"
