See a Rare Ratified Copy of the Constitution
As part of this program, a rare ratification copy of the Constitution will be on public display for the first time after auction. This important document was discovered at Hayes Farm in North Carolina in 2022 and sold at auction in 2024. This four-page folio of the Constitution, printed in New York by John McLean for Dunlap and Claypoole, is from a run of only 100 copies. A number of these were then signed by Secretary of Congress Charles Thomson and transmitted to the Governors of the States for ratification. This is the only signed ratification copy of the Constitution known to be in private hands and it has been generously placed on loan to the George Washington Presidential Library.
Meet the Speakers
Lindsay M. Chervinsky
Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky is the Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library and a historian of the presidency, political culture, and the government. She produces history that speaks to fellow scholars as well as a larger public audience.
Chervinsky is the author of two books, The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution (Harvard University Press, 2020), and her latest one, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic (Oxford Press, 2024). She also co-edited Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture (University of Virginia Press, 2023).
Chervinsky is the creator of the Audible course: The Best and Worst Presidential Cabinets in U.S. History. Her research can be found in publications from op-eds to books, speaking on podcasts and other media, and teaching for every kind of audience.
Robert Costa
Robert Costa is a national correspondent for "CBS News Sunday Morning" and chief Washington analyst for CBS News. Costa's work at "Sunday Morning" includes coverage of national politics, in-depth interviews with newsmakers, and features on culture, literature and the arts.
Costa was named a national correspondent for "Sunday Morning" in February 2025 following three years of contributions to the broadcast, including an exclusive sit-down in the White House residence with President Joe Biden in August 2024. It was Biden's first interview after he announced his decision to not seek reelection. Costa and colleagues at "Sunday Morning" won an Emmy Award in 2023 for Outstanding Recorded News Program.
Costa served as chief election and campaign correspondent for CBS News from 2022 through 2024. Prior to joining CBS News, Costa was a longtime national political reporter at The Washington Post. During his time at the newspaper, Costa served as the moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week" on PBS and was a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. In 2021, he and Bob Woodward published Peril, a No. 1 New York Times bestseller.
Costa holds a bachelor's degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame, where he is a former trustee, and a master's degree in politics from the University of Cambridge. Since 2022, Costa has served as a scholar at the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.
Judge J. Michael Luttig
Judge J. Michael Luttig served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit for 15 years, from 1991 to 2006. He is currently counselor and special advisor to the Coca-Cola Company and its board of directors. Prior to joining the Coca-Cola Company, Judge Luttig was counselor and senior advisor to the Boeing Company CEO and board of directors. He was executive vice president and general counsel of Boeing from 2006 to 2020.
Before he was appointed to the federal bench by President George H.W. Bush, he served as assistant attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice and counselor to the attorney general of the United States. He was assistant counsel to the president at the White House from 1981 to 1982 under President Ronald Reagan. From 1982 to 1983, he was a law clerk to then-Judge Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. From 1983 to 1985, he served as a law clerk and then special assistant to the chief justice of the United States.
Judge Luttig earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington and Lee University and his law degree from the University of Virginia.
Jamie Raskin
Congressman Jamie Raskin represents Maryland’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and was sworn into his fifth Term at the start of the 119th Congress on January 6, 2025. Before being elected to Congress, Rep. Raskin was a three-term State Senator in Maryland, where he served as Majority Whip.
Before entering Congress, Rep. Raskin was a professor of constitutional law at American University’s Washington College of Law for more than 25 years. He has authored several books, including the Washington Post best-seller Overruling Democracy: The Supreme Court versus the American People, the acclaimed We the Students: Supreme Court Cases for and About America’s Students, and the New York Times #1 best-seller Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth and the Trials of American Democracy.
Representative Raskin is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School and a former editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Kimberly Wehle
Kimberly Wehle is an expert in constitutional law and the separation of powers. She is a Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she teaches Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure, Administrative law, and Federal Courts, and a recipient of the University of Maryland System Board of Regents Award for excellence in scholarship. She is a legal contributor for ABC News and Zeteo, and regularly writes for Politico, The Atlantic, and The Bulwark. She was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Washington D.C. office and Associate Independent Counsel in the Whitewater Investigation.
She is author of the books, What You Need to Know about Voting—and Why, How to Read The Constitution—and Why, and How to Think Like a Lawyer—and Why: A Common-Sense Guide to Everyday Dilemmas, and Pardon Power: How the Pardon System Works—and Why, which won the 2025 Silver Award in the Political & Current Events category by the Independent Book Publishers Association.
Kim was also 2024-2025 Fulbright US Scholar Award in the University of Leiden, The Netherlands and a Thinker-in-Residence at the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam. During her time in The Netherlands, Kim lectured throughout Europe on the U.S. Constitution and global democracy.
Sponsored By Ford Philanthropy
Mount Vernon has enjoyed a very special relationship with the Ford Motor Company dating back more than 90 years. We are grateful for their generous support and we applaud their abiding respect for American heritage.