Freedom and the Constitution: A Second CenturyAppraisal

The boundaries of the topic assigned to me are so generous and indeterminate that, in fairness to the audience, it becomes necessary to confine my remarks to the contemporary status of public law and policy. That does not mean, however, that musings on the overall status of freedom cannot be addressed generally and broadly, albeit selectively. As one who has been an active student of the governmental process for more than five decades, and a professor of it for almost four, I have an obligation to be objective. Yet objectivity does not require an abstention from convictions and judgments.

It is in that spirit that I propose to deal with this enigmatic, controversial, but assuredly challenging assignment.