Professor Akhil Reed Amar’s “Born Equal” Receives Annual Lincoln Institute Book Prize
Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science Akhil Reed Amar ’84 was awarded the 2026 Abraham Lincoln Institute Book Award for “Born Equal: Remaking America’s Constitution, 1840–1920” at the 29th Annual Abraham Lincoln Institute Symposium.
The symposium was hosted at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. on March 21. Amar received the award and took part in a panel discussion titled, “Lincoln and the Declaration’s Promise of Equality,” as part of the symposium. The panel featured Amar and Professor Lucas Morel of Washington and Lee University, moderated by Jeffrey Rosen ’91.
The second volume of a planned trilogy, “Born Equal: Remaking America’s Constitution, 1840–1920,” traces the passage of four transformative constitutional amendments adopted in the years immediately following the end of the Civil War: the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery; the 14th Amendment establishing birthright citizenship; and the 15th Amendment declaring equal political rights for Black Americans.
Read a Q&A with Akhil Reed Amar about the book
Amar teaches constitutional law in both Yale College and Yale Law School. After graduating from Yale College in 1980 and from Yale Law School in 1984, and clerking for Judge (later Justice) Stephen Breyer, Amar joined the Yale faculty in 1985 at the age of 26. He is Yale’s only living professor to receive the Sterling Chair for scholarship, the DeVane Medal for teaching, and the Lamar Award for alumni service.
Amar is the author of more than a hundred law review articles and several books, including “The Bill of Rights” (1998), “America’s Constitution” (2005), “America’s Unwritten Constitution” (2012), and “The Constitution Today” (2016). The first volume of his ambitious trilogy on American constitutional history from the founding to the present, “The Words That Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760–1840,” was published in May 2021. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has written widely for popular publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time, and The Atlantic.
The Abraham Lincoln Institute, Inc. (ALI), provides free, ongoing education on the life, career, and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln. The symposium, held annually, sponsors discussions on Abraham Lincoln, his work, and how it continues to affect our society. This year’s symposium also celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the history and significance of the document, and Lincoln’s relationship to it. The Lincoln Institute’s Book Award recognizes award winning research and writing in books and dissertations.
