Research from Saul Cornell, the Paul and Diane Guenther Chair in American History at Fordham, is included in the scholarship published Oct. 21 in the Fordham Urban Law Journal  ahead of the scheduled oral arguments in United States v. Rahimi on Nov. 7. In the case, the court will decide whether a 30-year-old law banning firearms for people subject to domestic violence restraining orders violates the Second Amendment on its face.

Just over a year ago, the Supreme Court ruled in another case (NYSRPA v. Bruen) that gun regulations must reflect the ways such laws were applied at the time of the Second Amendment, which led the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the ban on domestic abusers.

“The Fifth Circuit said, well, domestic violence has been around for a long time. They didn’t take away people’s guns. Therefore, you can’t take away people’s guns.” 

But Cornell argued there is a good reason why guns weren’t taken away in the 18th Century. “Although domestic violence is not new, at the time of the Second Amendment, domestic violence perpetrated with guns was just not an issue, because guns took too long to load and were not a good choice for impulsive acts of violence.” 

“There’s a lot of complicated problems with how you would even begin to in good faith apply their method,” Cornell said. “There’s a huge opening for some kind of scholarship to give the court some direction,” Cornell said.

The published work includes statistical analyses, historical analyses such as Cornell’s, and descriptions of the ramifications of different legal decisions from some of today’s most influential experts in the fields of gun violence, public health, gun regulation, and the Second Amendment. These scholars author amicus briefs, which judges rely on for insight, and serve as expert witnesses in court.

The Fordham Urban Law Journal’s editor-in-chief, Joseph Gomez, said he expects their work to be used as source material when the justices write their opinions in Rahimi. “These scholars will be the most relevant source of expertise,” he said.

The field of weapons and gun law historians is small, and Cornell is in high demand as an expert witness in firearms regulation cases across the country. He said he currently is involved in 20 active cases ranging from extreme risk protection order decisions to whether people applying to be foster parents should have to lock up their weapons.

Confusion Over Bruen

“I’ve been working on gun regulation and the Second Amendment now since 1999,” said Cornell. “And because the Supreme Court last year issued this opinion that has created chaos in the lower courts, New York State Rifle and Pistol Association Inc. versus Bruen, it was clear to me and lots of people I talked to that since they changed the framework for evaluating laws, nobody knows how to implement the framework.”

Before the Bruen decision in 2022, lower courts looked to both historical tradition of gun regulation and “important government interest,” such as public safety considerations, he said. But in the Bruen decision, the Supreme Court said public safety can only be considered if there were comparable laws at the time of the Second Amendment that took public safety into account. Cornell said this “basically means you either have to find an analogous law, or at least a tradition, that seems to resemble the law in question today. And the big problem is life was very different in the 18th Century.”

Lower courts must rely on the Supreme Court’s guidance when interpreting gun laws. The pending Rahimi case provides the court with an opportunity to clarify how lower courts should apply the new framework laid out in Bruen, according to Kelly Roskam, J.D., the director of law and policy at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, who participated in the scholarship as well as the 2023 Cooper-Walsh Colloquium on “Public Health, History, and the Future of Gun Regulation After Bruen” that Cornell helped organize at the Fordham School of Law on Oct. 13.

The Fordham Urban Law Journal, Northwell Health Center for Gun Violence Prevention, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Gun Violence Solutions co-hosted the event.

‘Not Usually How We Do Things’

Cornell said, “I know a lot of people in the gun violence prevention community, and many of them were concerned that if history is what’s going to drive [the decision], does that mean all this great research we do about what actually is the problem and what is the solution is now irrelevant? It would be kind of crazy that they would just rely on what was known back then. I mean, that’s usually not how we do things.”

The Supreme Court is expected to announce its decision next June.

Last summer, Saul Cornell, Ph.D., the Paul and Diane Guenther Chair in American History, weighed in on U.S. Supreme Court case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen. At the heart of the case is a 1911 law that says New Yorkers who carry a concealed firearm outside their home must demonstrate a special need for self-protection. 

Gun-control activists want to keep this law because it will prevent some people from carrying guns and committing violent acts, said Cornell. However, National Rifle Association conservatives want to get rid of this law so more people can carry guns without having to give a reason, he said. The court is now trying to decide whether or not this law violates the Second Amendment. 

Cornell, a historian whose work has been widely cited by legal scholars, said that history supports the notion of needing a reason to carry a gun. However, conservative justices who will decide the case are claiming their decision is based on historical precedent, yet willfully ignoring actual historical facts that support the regulation of guns, he said.

“To understand the constitutionality of a law, we need to ask three questions: What does that law mean to Americans today? What does it mean to the courts? And what did it mean at the time that it was written and enacted?” Cornell said in this faculty mini-lecture filmed in March. “In most cases, the answers to those questions do not overlap at all. And in the case of guns, the disjuncture between those questions is, in some ways, wider than almost any other area of American law.”

In the video, Cornell explains his role in the court case, which follows a cascade of shootings across the country: in New York, most recently in a Buffalo supermarket and a New York City subway car, and in Texas, the tragic shooting in Robb Elementary School, where 21 people were killed—19 of them children. 

The final decision from the court may arrive this June, said Cornell, who also recently wrote an opinion piece for Slate on the matter. 

“Given these horrific events, it is hard to fathom how the U.S. Supreme Court could be contemplating striking down a century-old New York gun regulation,” he wrote in the May 19 Slate piece, “but based on the oral argument in the case, this unthinkable reality seems almost inevitable unless the court comes to its senses … and recognizes the long history of gun regulation and enforcement in America, including limits on public carry.”

ZEPHYR TEACHOUT
Zephyr Teachout announces run for New York attorney general
AP News 11-15-21
Teachout, 50, is an associate professor of law at Fordham University and a scholar on corruption and antitrust laws.

LAURA AURICCHIO
The U.S.-France relationship has always had friction
The Washington Post 11-15-21
Laura Auricchio, Dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, is the author of “The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered” and serves on the scientific advisory board for France in the Americas, an international collaborative project led by the French National Library.

MARK NAISON
How GOP focused voters on critical race theory
USA Today 11-16-21
Mark Naison, a professor of history and African American studies at Fordham University, told USA TODAY that critical race theory is used as a label to attack all efforts to diversify school curricula. “There is no school system in the country which uses it as a basis for curricular development,” Naison said.

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY

Bachelor’s Degree Center Releases National Rankings of Real Estate Degree Programs
PR Newswire 11-16-21
Fordham University – Bronx, NY

ADMINISTRATORS

JEFEREY NG
Campus Counselors Are Burned Out and Short-Staffed
The Chronicle of Higher Education 11-15-21
Jeffrey Ng, director of counseling and psychological services at Fordham University, reports that the number of students seen for clinical appointments has risen 42 percent since last fall.

LAURA AURICCHIO
The U.S.-France relationship has always had friction
The Washington Post 11-15-21
Laura Auricchio, Dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, is the author of “The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered” and serves on the scientific advisory board for France in the Americas, an international collaborative project led by the French National Library.

BARBARA PORCO
Last Place Finish Of Systemic Risk Management Reporting In ESG Survey Raises Red Flags
Forbes 11-16-21
“All elements of ESG reporting are really based on proper risk management,” according to Barbara Porco, director for the Center of Professional Accounting Practices at Fordham Business School.

SCHOOL OF LAW

New report calls for greater equity in middle and high school admissions
Inside Schools newsletter 11-17-21
A new report by the Feerick Center for Social Justice at Fordham University School of Law calls on the city to overhaul middle and high school admissions by taking some concrete steps.

FORMER SCHOOL OF LAW FACULTY

ALISON NATHAN
President Biden Names Tenth Round of Judicial Nominees
The White House 11-17-21
Judge Nathan was a Fritz Alexander Fellow at New York University School of Law from 2008 to 2009 and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Fordham University Law School from 2006 to 2008.

SCHOOL OF LAW FACULTY

BRUCE GREEN
Legal Professors’ Lawsuit Spotlights Resistance to Prosecutor Accountability
Filter Magazine 11-12-21
“Were [the state bar]motivated by the fact that the complaints were filed publicly so that a failure to act expeditiously would look bad?” Bruce Green, a Fordham Law professor not involved in filing the complaints, rhetorically asked.

MARTIN FLAHERTY
What one American’s case says about the future of the courts in Hong Kong
Vox 11-14-21
“My sense is that [Hong Kong’s rule of law is] on life support — but the prognosis is not very good,” said Martin Flaherty, a professor of international law at Fordham University.

ZEPHYR TEACHOUT
Zephyr Teachout announces run for New York attorney general
AP News 11-15-21
Teachout, 50, is an associate professor of law at Fordham University and a scholar on corruption and antitrust laws.

BENNETT CAPERS
Iowa scores lowest in the nation in policing and corrections spending
The Center Square 11-15-21
“These expenditures mean less money for schools, for libraries, for parks, you name it,” Fordham Law School Professor and Center on Race, Law, and Justice Director Bennett Capers said. “More importantly, they mean less money for things that could actually reduce crime, such as more affordable housing, job creation, and mental health treatment.”

JOHN PFAFF
Rittenhouse doesn’t have to prove he acted in self-defense
The Washington Post 11-15-21
John Pfaff is a professor of law at Fordham University. He is the author of “Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform.”

BRUCE GREEN
Bad romance: When courts won’t let lawyers and clients part ways
Reuters 11-16-21
As legal ethics expert Bruce Green, a professor at Fordham University School of Law, put it, “To have an effective lawyer-client relationship requires trust between the lawyer and the client.”

JOHN PFAFF
He’s Remaking Criminal Justice in L.A. But How Far Is Too Far?
DNYUZ 11-17-21
The single largest group in state prisons, totaling around 55 percent nationally, have been convicted of crimes of violence, according to John Pfaff, a law professor at Fordham University.

ALAN RUSSO
How Social Inflation is Changing Liability Insurance
Legal TalknNetwork 11-18-21
He’s also a regular lecturer for the National Business Institute on trial advocacy, and an instructor for the Corporation Counsel’s Trial Advocacy Program at Fordham University Law School and regular contributor to Lawline.

GABELLI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS FACULTY

DENISE BENNETT
Denise L. Bennett: Reaching a hand back in the business world
New York Amsterdam News 11-17-21
Along with her positions at iHeartMedia, Bennett just completed her first year as a professor at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business, where she teaches Advanced Business Communications at the graduate level.

ARTS & SCIENCES FACULTY

CHRISTINA GREER
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown faces backlash after winning write-in campaign
City and State NY 11-12-21
“Oftentimes, if you’ve been elected four different times, you’re not terribly worried about a primary, and so you tend to let your guard down just a little bit,” Fordham University associate professor of political science Christina Greer told City & State. “Ask Joe Crowley, right?”

MARK NAISON
How critical race theory went from conservative battle cry to mainstream powder keg
Yahoo News via USA Today 11-15-21
Mark Naison, a professor of history and African American studies at Fordham University, told USA TODAY that critical race theory is used as a label to attack all efforts to diversify public school curricula.

SAUL CORNELL
Will SCOTUS Force Us All to Find Out How Polite an Armed Society Will Be?
History News Network 11-14-21
Fordham Professor Saul Cornell, one of the leading authorities on early American constitutional thought, led 16 professors of history and law in a brief, arguing that “One of the longest continuous traditions in Anglo-American law are limits on the public carry of arms in populous areas.”

SAUL CORNELL
Former Prosecutor: “Wild West” Will Follow If NY Carry Laws Struck Down
BearingArms.com 11-15-21
Fordham Professor Saul Cornell, one of the leading authorities on early American constitutional thought, led 16 professors of history and law in a brief, arguing that “One of the longest continuous traditions in Anglo-American law are limits on the public carry of arms in populous areas.”

MARK NAISON
BronxTalk I November 15, 2021 – Racial Disparities
Bronx Net 11-15-21
…Dr. Mark Naison, Professor of African American Studies and History at Fordham University and Founder and Director of the Bronx African American History Project.

CHARLES CAMOSEY
Catholic groups criticize Archbishop Gomez for speech on ‘woke’ movements
Crux.com 11-16-21
He is an associate professor of theological and social ethics at Jesuit-run Fordham University.

MARK NAISON
How GOP focused voters on critical race theory
USA Today 11-16-21
Mark Naison, a professor of history and African American studies at Fordham University, told USA TODAY that critical race theory is used as a label to attack all efforts to diversify school curricula. “There is no school system in the country which uses it as a basis for curricular development,” Naison said.

CHRISTINA GREER
As N.J. Dems lick their wounds over 2021, 2022 looms
New Jersey Monitor 11-17-21
Christina Greer, politics professor at Fordham University, pointed to the failure of the party to capitalize on popular provisions in the infrastructure and spending bills that have been D.C.’s focus for months.

ATHLETICS

Largest Number of Ridgefield High School Athletes Ever Participate in Signing Day
Ridgefield’s Hamlethub 11-12-21
Daniel Bucciero, RHS class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play Division 1 baseball at Fordham University…Miranda Bonitatebus, RHS class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to swim on the women’s swim and dive team at Fordham University…Eva Niemeyer, RHS class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play women’s soccer at Fordham University in New York.

That Noise You Heard Was The Entire Atlantic Ten Conference Shitting Their Pants; The Loyola Ramblers Will Join The A10 In 2022
Barstool Sports 11-17-21
Fellow Jesuit institutions Fordham University, Saint Joseph’s University and Saint Louis University are current members of the Atlantic 10 Conference and in joining the A-10, Loyola will renew rivalries with The University of Dayton, Duquesne University, La Salle University and Saint Louis University, which were all-conference foes of the Ramblers at one time in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference.

STUDENTS

Amid Black exodus, young Catholics are pushing the church to address racism
The Washington Post 11-15-21
To John Barnes, who will be leading an upcoming webinar episode, says, “Black people always exist in liminal spaces.” Barnes, a doctoral student in systematic theology at Fordham University, converted to Catholicism in his 30s and said he was drawn by the religion’s sacraments and rituals.

Food Insecurity Linked to Disordered Eating in Patients With Obesity
Clinical Advisor 11-15-21
While more than 14 million US households experience food insecurity, research on the relationship between food insecurity and eating pathology is only just emerging, explained Jill Stadterman, MA, of Fordham University, and lead author of one of the studies with coauthors Yvette G.

ALUMNI

Former Japanese Princess Arrives In U.S. For New Life With Husband
Forbes 11-14-21
Mako is the elder daughter of Japan’s Crown Prince Fumihito and niece of Emperor Naruhito, while her new husband was raised by a single mother and graduated from Fordham Law School, according to the Associated Press.

Cedar Fair hires a new chief legal officer
CrainsCleveland.com 11-15-21
Nurse earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and a law degree from Fordham University School of Law.

Built on Beer
RichmondMagazine.com 11-15-21
McKay graduated from Fordham, earning his MBA, and Murtaugh attended Siebel Institute of Technology, the oldest brewing school in the United States, with campuses in Chicago and Germany.

Sam Ramirez Jr., a second-generation investment executive for the people
Al Dia 11-17-21
He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Vermont, before pursuing two MBAs at Dartmouth and Fordham University, respectively.

Bressler, Amery & Ross Welcomes Jorge Campos as Counsel in New York Office
PR Newswire 11-17-21
He went on to earn his Executive MBA in Global Business from Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona and an LL.M in Intellectual Property and Information Technology from Fordham University School of Law.

Msgr. John P. “Doc” Monaghan (1890-1961)
Catholic New York 11-17-21
Assigned to St. Peter’s Church on Staten Island, Father Monaghan taught at St. Peter’s Boys and Girls High Schools, while pursuing a doctorate in English literature at Fordham University.

Crowder College names finalists for president
The Joplin Globe 11-16-21
She holds a doctorate in educational leadership, administration and policy from Fordham University in New York, and a master’s degree in higher education administration and a bachelor’s degree in international marketing from Bernard M. Baruch College, CUNY, in New York.

Loyola Academy names new president
Evanston Now 11-17-21
He holds bachelor’s degrees from the University of Dayton in mechanical engineering and English and master’s degrees in English from Pennsylvania State University, in philosophy from Fordham University, in theology from Boston College, and in educational policy and management and in public administration from Harvard University.

Four finalists announced in Crowder College President Search
FourStatesHomepage.com 11-17-21
She previously served as Administrator for Retention and Student Success at Bronx Community College, CUNY, in New York, NY. Dr. Simpson earned a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, Administration and Policy from Fordham University in New York, NY; a Master of Education in Higher Education Administration, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in International Marketing from Bernard M. Baruch College, CUNY, in New York, NY.

Erin Dahl, Home Décor Expert for MyDomaine
MyDomaine.com 11-18-21
She went on to study French Language & Literature and International Political Economy at Fordham University in the Bronx.

Cuban scholar publishes new book detailing Cuba’s history through stamps
The Independent Florida Alligator 11-17-21
In the U.S. he earned a J.D. from Fordham University Law School and a M.A. in Political Science from Columbia University.

OBITUARIES

James Brundage
Lawrence Journal-World 11-15-21
B.A. (1950) and M.A. (1951) from the University of Nebraska; Ph.D. (1955) Fordham University.

Betty Starr, 93, longtime Katonah resident, educator and St. Luke’s parishioner
The Record-Review 11-15-21
She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education from Fordham University and a master’s degree in education administration from the University of Chicago.

William J. DuMond
Legacy.com 11-16-21
Will attained a perfect score on his college entry exam and received an academic scholarship to Fordham University.

Sister Maureen McDermott, Catholic school leader, dies at 65
CatholicPhilly.com 11-17-21
Along the way she earned a master’s degree in English from West Chester University and a Ph.D. in Catholic educational leadership from Fordham University.

Vincent R. Harter
Legacy.com 11-18-21
Vince’s essence remains with us.
Vince was a graduate of Fordham University, served in and retired from the United States Air Force, worked in the private sector, was involved in the wellbeing and maintenance of St. John’s Catholic School in Belleville, coached sports, volunteered his time at St. Luke’s in Belleville and never knew a stranger.

According to Saul Cornell, Ph.D., that’s the lesson of a decision last month by the Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals that ruled in favor of states limiting who can carry a gun in public.

Cornell, the Paul and Diane Guenther Chair in American History, was cited multiple times by both the majority and dissenting opinions in the decision Young V. State of Hawaii. The justices in the case based their decision partly on his research on the models of gun regulation that were developed in the United States outside of the Slave South.

Rather than relying on the words of slave-owning judges in the antebellum South to guide their understanding of history, Cornell’s approach urges judges to take into account the history of all parts of the country when using the past as precedent.

The case began when George Young sued the state of Hawaii in 2012 for denying his application to carry a concealed or openly visible handgun. Hawaii law stipulates that the police chief may only grant such licenses to those who need a gun for their job or who show “reason to fear injury” to their “person or property.”

Young claimed this violated the 2008 Supreme Court decision Heller vs. District of Columbia, which was the first Supreme Court case to decide that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense, and that was not just a right intended for state militias.

There is a catch though. When he wrote the Heller majority opinion, the late Antonin Scalia, a proponent of the legal theory originalism, cited the 1846 case Nunn vs. Georgia, which interpreted the right to bear arms in expansive terms.

Proponents of originalism assert that the Constitution must be interpreted based on the original understanding “at the time it was adopted.”

But since the Nunn case was a product of the Slave South, and not the era when the Second Amendment was written, courts have since 2008 been considering whether it represented the attitudes of a majority of the country or just one region. Once Scalia linked the constitutionality of today’s laws to establishing a historical genealogy, it set off a legal scavenger hunt of sorts for scholars like Cornell, who first tackled the issue of the history of regional differences in A Well Regulated Right: The Early American Origins of Gun Control (Fordham Law Review, 2004).

Regional Gun Cultures

“Since Heller, we now ask not just ‘What is the history of the right to bear arms?’ but ‘What is the history of regulation?’ And when you start doing the history, what you discover is, America was a very complicated place even back in its early history,” he said.

“One of the most interesting and important qualities of America then that still exists today is the existence of regional gun cultures.”

Working with colleagues at places such as the Duke University Center for Firearms Law, Cornell has been excavating that history, most recently in History, Text, Tradition, and the Future of Second Amendment Jurisprudence: Limits on Armed Travel under Anglo-American Law, 1688–1868, 83 (Law and Contemporary Problems, 2020). It was one of the sources cited in the Young case, which runs to 215 pages and traces the arc of gun regulation over five centuries from English common law, which is the basis of much of American law, and has profoundly shaped today’s law.

“Heller stuck very close to a narrow range of sources, mostly case law. What Young did is, it took Heller’s injunction to look at the history of regulations as guideposts for judging,” Cornell said.

“It turns out the history is much more friendly to regulation than Scalia or gun rights activists would have imagined.”

In addition to finding clear examples of regulations in England before the American Revolution, Cornell found statutes in Massachusetts that prohibited “armed travel in populous areas.”

The irony, Cornell said, is that Scalia just assumed that the gun regulation laws in the slave-holding South would evolve in the same way as New England or the Midwest, where Cornell found examples of gun regulations from the 19th century. Originalists, including Justice Scalia, were so confident that the precedent set by the South would be commonplace, and history would bear out their view, they never bothered to consider other examples from different regions.

“I think what we’ve seen time and again since Heller—and it’s really quite striking—is that almost all the serious historical scholarship has found that Heller’s history is just demonstrably false in important ways.” he said.

“The authors of Heller went big on the history, but never anticipated or thought, ‘What happens if the history doesn’t support us?’ They were completely naïve because their view of history was just so simplistic. They really don’t think history changes, and that’s the essence of their originalism.”

Historical Precedent for Providing a Reason for Gun Ownership

Ultimately, Cornell said decisions such as Young show that if activists’ goal is to let any American buy a gun and carry it without a good reason, history will not be as helpful as they assume. The attitudes that Southerners had about guns were not representative of the whole country in the 19th century, and that remains true today.

“One of the funny things about modern gun debate is, gun rights activists say that asking someone to provide a reason to own a gun is unreasonable. But it turns out have having a reason has always been reasonable in most places in America.”

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and other members of the country’s founding generation would be likely be dumbfounded by that answer, said Saul Cornell, Ph.D., Fordham’s Paul and Diane Guenther Chair in American History.

In The Partisan Republic: Democracy, Exclusion, and the Fall of the Founders’ Constitution, 1780s–1830s (Cambridge University Press, 2019), a new book he co-wrote with Gerald Leonard, Ph.D., of the Boston University School of Law, Cornell tells the story of how the Constitution was shaped; what it was supposed to do when it was ratified; and just as important, how it began to change almost immediately after it was ratified.

A Sharp Break With the Past

For starters, he said it’s worth remembering that in one generation in the late 1700s, aristocracy and monarchy, which were the two central institutions of European government for thousands of years, were tossed aside by the leaders of the American Revolution.

“So, what were the American revolutionaries going to do to replace it? We tend not to think about that because we’ve done it successfully for 200 years and we take it for granted. Today most countries in the West are parliamentary democracies, but our constitutional form is unique,” he said.

The original answer to this question, he said, was far from the “government for the people, by the people” majority rule that we envision the country to be now.

“We still mistakenly think we were always meant to be a democracy. We don’t realize what a struggle it was to take a government that was not designed to be a democracy and make it one,” he said.

Far from being open to a full-fledged democracy, the founders actually established a republic governed by an enlightened elite.

The book, which is geared toward everyone from casual readers to graduate students, sets the scene of the creation for the Constitution, which was ratified in 1788. At the time, he noted, constitutionalism pervaded American culture in a way that’s inconceivable now.

“People were saying in private letters that, ‘Everyone from the doorman at the tavern to the governor is talking about the constitution.’ While I’m sure there were some people who were too drunk to know what was going on, or just not paying attention, what’s remarkable is how many people were caught up in it and paying attention,” he said.

Government by the Few for the Many

Of course, that didn’t mean that everyone actually got a say in the conversation about the Constitutions.  Women, slaves, and native Americans were not directly part of the great debate.

“The general view of most legal scholars is that the people must have been quiescent or just inarticulate. But in fact, they were very much trying in whatever ways were available to them to have their voices heard. There were a lot of people doing the best they could to take the ideas of the American Revolution and make them their own,” he said.

The founders also created the Electoral College as another check against unrestrained democracy setting it up to be something akin to the College of Cardinals, the small group that chooses the Pope.

“You’re essentially creating a filtering mechanism so that the people will not directly elect a president who might not be sufficiently educated, informed, or wise enough,” he said.

He noted that the Electoral College was also meant to be a bulwark against the rise of political parties. Thomas Jefferson famously quipped, ‘If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all.’ It was a generation, Cornell said, that was very suspicious of democracy.

“The Founders wanted the people to be involved, but they feared turning over the reins of government to the people; they were deeply worried about that,” he said.

“They’ve looked at the history of Rome, and they know that republics fell because of rabble rousing and the mob: turbulence eventually led to tyranny. So they were trying to create a republic, not a democratic form of government, with checks and balances built in throughout.”

A Populist Movement Emerges

Things began to change pretty quickly, though, thanks to people like Andrew Jackson, a Democrat who was president from 1829-1837. A product of the west, Jackson embraced a more democratic vision for the country, but he did so by appealing to voters who would deny equal rights to women and minorities and who cheered on his vicious treatment of native Americans.

“It was not pre-ordained that America would exclude woman, blacks, Indians. The idea that there was no room for these nonwhite, non-European people in the growing American republic takes center stage with the rise of Jackson,” said Cornell.

The notion of using legal barriers to exclude everyone but white men from political power is obviously absurd today, but Cornell said we’d still be wise to consider the balancing act that the founding generation embraced when they crafted the Constitution. Although ideally democracy and liberty go hand in hand, for most of western history that has not been the case. Many of the populist leaders who have risen to power in recent years, for instance, have done so via democratic processes, but they do not necessarily value or promote liberty, certainly not liberty for all.

“We have this idea that democracy and liberty always support one another. Well, democracy doesn’t always lead to freedom. That’s an important lesson we need to learn,” he said.

If there’s one image that encapsulates Cornell’s thoughts about the American Constitution, he said, it’s the image of Odysseus tied to the mast of a ship in Homer’s The Odyssey. Odysseus understood that if he did not bind himself to the mast it would drive him mad, so, he had his crew plug their ears with wax, and instructed them to not untie him.

“Constitutional governments strive to tie the people to the mast so that they will stay alert but not be swayed by the siren songs of demagogues. The founders sought to build the right kind of mast to tie ourselves to, so we can get back to our safe harbor,” he said.

“If you tied yourself up so tight that you strangled yourself, you haven’t really done yourself much good. If you don’t tie yourself tightly enough to that mast, you’re going to just jump in the water, and you’re another victim of the siren’s song. The nature of constitutional government is to find the right balance between liberty and order:  popular government restrained by the rule of law.”

Guns in America

The shooting in San Bernardino will not change the larger dynamic at work in the contentious debate over the role of guns in American society. The gun rights position and the gun violence reduction policy agenda are each a product of a complex amalgam of  interests and ideologies.  Each must work in the increasingly dysfunctional world of American politics,  a reality in which the wealthier, more entrenched interest tends to win: in this case guns. We are unlikely to see major changes at the national level and will continue to see the nation drift in opposite directions at the state level—“Red America” will likely continue to expand the right to carry in public and “Blue America” will pass some more regulations consistent with the way the courts have construed the meaning of the right to bear arms in recent years.

– Saul Cornell, PhD, Paul and Diane Gunther Chair in History and author, A Well-Regulated Militia: the Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America.

Fantasy Sports Shutdown

After a period of spectacular growth in an unregulated market, both FanDuel and DraftKings will have a rocky 2016. The New York State Office of the Attorney General will likely prevail in its quest to shut down these sites in New York (which had the largest number of players of any state), but only after months of litigation and appeals. However, it is likely these daily fantasy sports sites will continue to operate in other states, although in a more regulated fashion. The ultimate solution would be to legalize sports betting in some fashion, which would eliminate the need to debate whether daily fantasy sports constitutes gambling or not. I don’t see that happening next year, but [perhaps]in the next five years.

– Mark Conrad, Area Chair and Associate Professor of Law and Ethics, Gabelli School of Business and director of its sports business concentration

Prison Reform

This coming year, New York State and the federal government will be challenged with following suit on their commitment to prison reform and improving community reintegration for incarcerated people of all ages. Ending solitary confinement, a form of inhumane punishment, will continue to gain state and national support. The shift from punishment to rehabilitation will open the door for trauma-informed care, [and]concerted efforts of local and national advocacy groups will increase public awareness of the consequences of mass incarceration, resulting in an increase of public support for humanistic prison reform and more community reintegration. In our own backyard, Fordham’s Be the Evidence project is collaborating with the New York State Department of Corrections to establish a statewide initiative for a discharge planning unit for the most vulnerable of prison populations—the aging and seriously ill. Perhaps most importantly, Sesame Street will continue to enlighten people about the experiences of young children who have an incarcerated parent. It may be the puppets (as opposed to the politicians) that will release us from the invisible prisons that separate each of us from one another’s common humanity.

– Tina Maschi, PhD, associate professor at the Graduate School of Social Service and president of Be the Evidence International

Escalating Humanitarian Crises

In 2005, Madame Sadako Ogata, then the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said of the Balkan crisis, “There are no humanitarian solutions to humanitarian problems,” stating that only political action can bring about real change. That statement is still true 10 years later. In 2016, due to political inaction, the current Middle East migration crises will worsen, and increased human displacement and suffering will continue. Perhaps, even worse, the humanitarian community will continue to lack critical and needed financial support and qualified personnel. Other countries in the region, especially Jordan, Palestine, and Lebanon, will therefore see an increase in unrest, adding to the overall migration numbers.

– Brendan Cahill, executive director of Fordham’s Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs

Reproductive Ethics

Uterus transplant clinical trials are currently—and will continue to be—a major news story in 2016. At this stage, a study in Sweden involving nine women who received uteruses from living donors resulted in five pregnancies and four live births in 2015. Two other clinical trials are set to begin next year: one in the United Kingdom, and one at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States.  A significant ethical issue with the Swedish trial was the fact that the living donors had to undergo major surgery with potential complications for something that had no direct physical benefit for them. But the new trials will differ from the one that took place in Sweden, because each uterus will come from a deceased donor, eliminating potential harm to a living donor. However, many questions remain unanswered, including whether uteruses transplanted from deceased donors will result in pregnancies, and whether women will view posthumous [womb]donation differently than donating other organs currently used in transplants, such as kidneys and hearts, because of its unique role as the organ responsible for gestation.

– Elizabeth Yuko, PhD, bioethicist at Fordham’s Center for Ethics Education

Rate Increase Ripple Effects

When the Fed set its monetary policy in December 2015, they were making policy [strictly]on the basis of the U.S. economy, but at the same time it affects the entire world. The new interest rate hike clearly appreciates the dollar, and the real question for the emerging market countries is, if something looks risky to an investor in another country, why keep your money there when you can get guaranteed dollar-denominated deposits? Even at .25 percent, when multiplied by hundreds of billions of dollars, that is real money. So investment is flowing back to the United States. Given that people will be less willing to invest in emerging markets—China, Brazil, Argentina, and the Middle East—their currencies will depreciate. If there are slowdowns in some of these nations, their domestic debt crises could compound quickly.

– Paul McNelis, SJ, Robert Bendheim Professor of Economic & Financial Policy, Finance and Business Economics, Gabelli School of Business

Climate Change and the Marginalized

The coming year looks hopeful for the environment. The agreement reached at COP21 finally replaces the question of climate change with a dialogue about combatting it. While international agreements do not solve local problems, they can create a more supportive climate for local communities trying to address them. In Paris, I saw attention shifting to the role of indigenous peoples and a renewed appreciation for the traditional knowledge of local communities. These inevitably slow-but-vital shifts in global perspective bring to light the marginalized person whom development efforts should ultimately target. These people offer us ideas on how to achieve economic growth without harming the environment. Scaling their daily work to reach the goals set by world leaders is key to sustainable development.

– Elizabeth Shaw, graduate student in Fordham’s International Political Economy and Development program, and attendee at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21)

2016 Presidential Election

Elections are ultimately determined, in part, by which voters show up. The 2016 election’s likely turnout of 60 percent, while lower than many would like, will exceed the turnout in 2014 by about 20 percentage points. Higher turnout generally favors Democrats, because many voters who abstain in midterms and other low-salience elections are young or new voters and minorities. Still, many things are up in the air: For example, if Donald Trump fails to get the GOP nomination, do his supporters sit out the election or does he mount a third-party candidacy that appeals to them? Turnout—along with outcomes generally—is also driven by fundamentals like perceptions of economic performance and the incumbent party. Seeking your party’s third term in the White House seems to carry a general-election penalty of 4 or 5 percentage points, so the Democratic nominee will have to work hard to mitigate that effect.

— Costas Panagopoulos, PhD, professor of political science and director of Fordham’s Elections and Campaign Management program

ISIS

ISIS has defined itself as “ISIS against the world.” That offers the US and other nations a unifying focal point. I think the strategy we have now will continue to grow, which is to engage with more Muslim heads of state and  leaders from various countries to mount a united front. It’ll be interesting to see how Iran fits into that conversation and what happens with the U.S./Saudi alliance, but I don’t think it will change U.S./Russian relations very much. Domestically, ISIS has provided a unifying focal point as well. It’s been very reassuring to see strong pushback against Trump’s anti-Muslim comments. Individuals from across the political spectrum have declared that his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country violates the most fundamental constitutional guarantees.

– Karen Greenberg, PhD, is the director of the Center on National Security

Aditi Bagchi,

associate professor of law, LAW,

“ESPN Accused in Dish Case of Giving Comcast Better Terms,” Bloomberg, February 11

Tom Beaudoin, Ph.D.,

associate professor of practical theology, GRE,

“Woodford and the Quest for Meaning,” ABC Radio, February 16

Mary Bly, Ph.D.,

professor of English, A&S,

“How do Bestselling Novelists Court Cupid on Valentine’s Day?,” Washington Post, February 14

James Brudney,

professor of law, LAW,

“Nutter Seeks High Court’s OK to Impose His Terms on City Workers,” Philly.com, March 1

Charles C. Camosy, Ph.D.,

assistant professor of theology, A&S,

“Drone Warfare Faces Barrage of Moral Questions,” Catholic San Francisco, February 20

Colin M. Cathcart, M.F.A.,

associate professor of architecture, A&S,

“New York City Traffic Ranked the Worst Among the Nation: Study,” AM New York, February 6

Saul Cornell, Ph.D.,

The Paul and Diane Guenther Chair in American History, A&S,

“After Newtown: Guns in America,” WNET-TV, February 19

Carole Cox, Ph.D.,

professor of social service, GSS,

“Boomer Stress,” Norwich Bulletin, February 19

George Demacopoulos, Ph.D.,

associate professor of theology, A&S,

“Pope Resignation,” ABC, World News Now, February 28

Christopher Dietrich, Ph.D.,

assistant professor of history, A&S,

“Bad Precedent: Obama’s Drone Doctrine is Nixon’s Cambodia Doctrine (Dietrich),” Informed Comment, February 11

John Entelis, Ph.D.,

professor of political science, A&S,

“John Brennan,” BBC Radio, February 9

Howard Erichson,

professor of law, LAW,

“High-Stakes Trial Begins for 2010 Gulf Oil Spill,” Amarillo Globe-News, February 25

Laura Gonzalez, Ph.D.,

assistant professor of finance, BUS,

“Recortes al Presupuesto Podrían Afectar el Seguro Social y Medicare,” Mundo Fox, February 8

Albert Greco, Ph.D.,

professor of marketing, BUS,

“Why Would Anyone Want to Buy a Bookstore?,” Marketplace, February 25

Karen J. Greenberg, Ph.D.,

director of the Center on National Security, LAW,

“Alleged Sept. 11 Plotters in Court, but Lawyers Do the Talking,” National Public Radio, February 11

Stephen R. Grimm, Ph.D.,

associate professor of philosophy, A&S,

“Grants from Foundations and Corporations of More Than $100,000 in 2013,” Chronicle of Philanthropy, February 28

Tanya Hernandez, Ph.D.,
professor of law, LAW,

“Brazil’s Affirmative Action Law Offers a Huge Hand Up,” Christian Science Monitor, February 12

J. Patrick Hornbeck, Ph.D.,

assistant professor of theology, A&S,

“Vatican Conclave,” Huffington Post, March 4

Robert Hume, Ph.D.,

associate professor of political science, A&S,

“USA: Supreme Court Case Update – DOMA/Prop 8 Briefs Streaming In,” Gay Marriage Watch, February 28

Clare Huntington,

associate professor of law, LAW,

“Sunday Dialogue: How to Give Families a Path Out of Poverty,” The New York Times, February 9

Nicholas Johnson,

professor of law, LAW,

“Neil Heslin, Father of Newtown Victim, Testifies at Senate Assault Weapons Ban Hearing,”Huffington Post, February 27

Michael E. Lee, Ph.D.,

associate professor of theology, A&S,

“Tiempo: Watch this Week’s Show,” WABC 7, February 17

Joseph T. Lienhard, S.J.,

professor of theology, A&S,

“Remembering Benedict — the Teacher, the Traditionalist,” The Saratogian, March 1

Dawn B. Lerman, Ph.D.,

director of the Center for Positive Marketing, marketing area chair, and professor of marketing, BUS,

“Study: Google, Facebook, Walmart Fill Consumer Needs,” Tech Investor News, February 12

Paul Levinson, Ph.D.,

professor of communication and media studies, A&S,

“Will Oscar Host Seth MacFarlane Be Asked Back? Probably Not,” Yahoo! News via Christian Science Monitor, February 26

Hector Lindo-Fuentes, Ph.D.,

professor of history and director of Latin American and Latino Studies, A&S,

“Escaping Gang Violence, Growing Number of Teens Cross Border,” WNYC, December 28

Timothy Malefyt, Ph.D.,

visiting associate professor of marketing, BUS,

“On TV, an Everyday Muslim as Everyday American,” The New York Times, February 8

Elizabeth Maresca,

clinical associate professor of law, LAW,

“Poll: 87 Percent Say Never OK to Cheat on Taxes,” KWQC, February 26

Carlos McCray, Ed.D.,

associate professor of education leadership, GRE,

“Cops Nab 5-Year-Old for Wearing Wrong Color Shoes to School,” Take Part, January 18

Micki McGee, Ph.D.,

assistant professor of sociology, A&S,

“Do Self-Help Books Work?,” Chicago Sun Times, February 21

Mark Naison, Ph.D.,

professor of African and African American Studies and history, and principal investigator of the Bronx African American History Project (BAAHP), A&S,

“Professor: Why Teach For America Can’t Recruit in my Classroom,” Washington Post, February 18

Costas Panagopoulos, Ph.D.,

associate professor of political science, A&S,

“Analysis: Obama to Republicans – Can We Just Move On?,” WHTC 1450, February 13

Kimani Paul-Emile,

associate professor of law, LAW,

“Some Patients Won’t See Nurses of Different Race,” Cleveland Plain Dealer via AP, February 22

Michael Peppard, Ph.D.,

assistant professor of theology, A&S,

“Big Man on Campus isn’t on Campus,” Commonweal, February 20

Francis Petit, Ed.D.,

associate dean and director of Executive Programs, BUS,

“Marissa Mayer Takes Flak for Gathering Her Troops,” E-Commerce Times, March 1

Rose Perez, Ph.D.,

assistant professor of social work, GSS,

“Education Segment,” Mundo Fox, January 21

Wullianallur “R.P.” Raghupathi, Ph.D.,

professor of information systems, BUS,

“¿Qué Tiene Silicon Valley para Producir ‘Frutos’ Como Steve Jobs?,” CNN, February 24

Joel Reidenberg, Ph.D.,

Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and professor of law and founding academic director of the Center on Law and Information Policy, LAW,

“Google App Store Policy Raises Privacy Concerns,” Reuters, February 14

Erick Rengifo-Minaya, Ph.D.,

associate professor of economics, BUS,

“Noticias MundoFOX 10PM Parte II,” Mundo Fox Noticias, February 8

Patrick J. Ryan, S.J.,

The Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, A&S,

“Pope Resignation,” WNBC, Sunday “Today in NY,” March 13

Susan Scafidi,

professor of law, LAW,

“Diamonds: How $60B Industry Thrives on Symbolism,” CBS This Morning, February 21

Christine Janssen-Selvadurai, Ph.D.,director of the entrepreneurship program at the Gabelli School of Business and co-director of both Fordham’s Center for Entrepreneurship and the Fordham Foundry, BUS,

“NYC Embraces Silicon Valley’s Appetite for Risk,” Crain’s New York Business, February 6

Ellen Silber, Ph.D.,

director of Mentoring Latinas, GSS,

“Mentoring Program Serves Young Latinas Aiming Higher in New York City,” Fox News Latino, February 25

Janet Sternberg, Ph.D.,assistant professor of communication and media studies, A&S,

“What are You Supposed to Do When You Have, Like, 106,926 Unread Emails?,” Huffington Post, February 25

Maureen A. Tilley, Ph.D.,professor of theology, A&S,

“Pope Resignation: Interview with Maureen Tilley of Fordham University,” WPIX, February 17

Terrence W. Tilley, Ph.D.,

Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., Professor of Catholic Theology and chair of the department, A&S,

“As Conclave to Select New Pope Begins, English-Speaking Cardinals Lead Charge to Reform Vatican,” Daily News, March 4

Peter Vaughan, Ph.D.,dean of the Graduate School of Social Service, GSS,

“Ceremony Held for NASW Foundation Award Recipients,” Social Work Blog, February 28

More features in this issue:

People

In Focus: Faculty and Research

Back to Inside Fordham home page

Copyright © 2013, Fordham University.

Oh groan, not again! Yes, more January snow fell on the metropolitan area late Wednesday, forcing a delayed opening on the Fordham campuses.

Some undaunted students and faculty made the most of it.

(Photos by Nicholas Lombardi, S.J.)