Sheldon Gilbert

Future Assoc. Professor, Time Travel Law

Personal account; views are my own.

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

"From George Washington to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, 18 August 1790"

Excerpt —

"For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance... May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid..."

https://t.co/qb6Et9q8Hs

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

I first encountered the work of Gordon Wood as an undergrad history major. I thought then that "The Radicalism of the American Revolution" was a tour de force — and its reputation with me has only improved over time.

Over the years, I purchased every single Gordon Wood book. Many years ago, when I was a young husband and new dad, Gordon Wood came to the Mall in Washington DC as part of a book festival. I brought several books for him to sign. I dropped off my wife with our young child (and the pile of books) and then searched for parking.

Dear reader, I had to park very far away. So far, in fact, that Gordon Wood's window for signing books had long since passed. I finally found my wife and young child with Gordon Wood at an empty author's booth. He not only had signed all my books, but he had stayed well past his time to leave and graciously chatted with my wife, who had implored him to wait **just a little longer** so that I could meet him. He was so kind to my wife, our child, and — when I finally showed up — me.

Imagine my delight earlier this year when Gordon Wood agreed to be filmed for The Federalist Society @FedSoc for two days, to talk about America250 and the Founding (in particular, the path from the Declaration to the Constitution) and also to talk about his own life and career as a historian. I was honored to witness my good friends @kurtlash1 and Steve Calabresi interview Gordon Wood.

... and then Gordon Wood stayed long past the agreed upon filming time to talk to me about his life and our shared love of America's Founding.

We lost a brilliant man today. We also lost a good man, a kind man. Too often, that Venn Diagram of brilliance and kindness does not overlap. It did with Gordon Wood. May God receive his soul, and may his memory be a blessing.

[Federalist Society @FedSoc]

Like the rest of the country, young students and professionals in the Federalist Society network are shocked and in mourning over the murder of Charlie Kirk at a campus debate in Utah on September 10.

Please read these two tributes to Charlie Kirk from Julien Mourad—a current student at Ave Maria University who is both a Federalist Society chapter president at his school and a Vice President of his schools Turning Point chapter—and Rory Smist, a 2025 graduate of Mount St. Mary's University who is now on the staff of the Federalist Society.

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

"My Grandfather's Son" is one of my favorite memoirs. Congratulations Justice Thomas!

[Mark Paoletta @MarkPaoletta]

🧵Today, Justice Clarence Thomas became the 6th longest serving Justice in our nation’s history, sharing this distinction today with one of our greatest Justices who is also a guiding light for Justice Thomas, Justice John Marshall Harlan.

Justice Harlan’s solo dissent from a shameful majority opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 establishing the racist “separate but equal” rule set him apart as a man of courage and first principles.

As Justice Thomas wrote in his magisterial concurrence in the 2023 Harvard case:

“Only one Member of the Court adhered to the equality principle; Justice Harlan, standing alone in dissent, wrote: ‘Our constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law.’ Id., at 559. Though Justice Harlan rightly predicted that Plessy would, ‘in time, prove to be quite as pernicious as the decision made . . . in the Dred Scott case,’ the Plessy rule persisted for over a half century. Ibid. While it remained in force, Jim Crow laws prohibiting blacks from entering or utilizing public facilities such as schools, libraries, restaurants, and theaters sprang up across the South.

This Court rightly reversed course in Brown v. Board of Education. The Brown appellants—those challenging segregated schools—embraced the equality principle, arguing that ‘[a] racial criterion is a constitutional irrelevance, and is not saved from condemnation even though dictated by a sincere desire to avoid the possibility of violence or race friction.’”

Following the courageous example of Justice Harlan, Justice Thomas has been the most forceful advocate for the Court to follow the Constitution’s command that the use of race is never permissible - that the Constitution, in Justice Harlan’s words, is “color blind.”

It has been a long road on this issue since Justice Thomas first arrived on the Court on October 23, 1991, and he has written many compelling dissents and concurrences, including his powerful Grutter dissent in 2003, all of which laid the groundwork for the Supreme Court to arrive at its superb holding in the 2023 Harvard case striking down the use of race in college admissions.

Justice Thomas’ 60 page concurrence in the Harvard case is a tour de force for the ages (link below).

It’s worth celebrating when Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice John Marshall Harlan share the exact number of days of years of service on the Supreme Court (12, 360 days).

Learn more about Justice Thomas’s inspiring life from being born into abject poverty in the segregated south to becoming our greatest Justice by watching the documentary, Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words or reading his memoirs, My Grandfather’s Son. (links below)

[Federalist Society @FedSoc]

Registration is open for the 2025 Alabama Chapters Conference! Join us September 4-5 in Birmingham for panel discussions on The Future of Government Reform, Benchmarking Liberty: America 250, and a luncheon & keynote address from Hon. Todd W. Blanche.

Register here: https://t.co/j7ripRSskd

[Federalist Society @FedSoc]

What were the biggest Supreme Court decisions of the year—and what do they mean for the future of law and policy?

@KannonShanmugam and @KristenWaggoner discussed these questions at the 2025 Annual Supreme Court Round Up. Don't miss this deep dive into the term’s most impactful cases.

Watch now:

[Federalist Society @FedSoc]

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Founding of the United States in 2026, the Federalist Society will be launching a year-long series marking this historic milestone.

Through events, programming, and multimedia, we’ll celebrate the ideas and figures that defined our constitutional framework.

Find out more at https://t.co/rkIDlpCSX1

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

What's the best Continental Army break-up line?

"When in the course of human events..."

#IndependenceDayDadJokes

31/1776

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

What's the best Continental Army pick-up line?

"Are you free later?"

#IndependenceDayDadJokes

29/1776

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

What did the British scholar of American history say to the American tweeting out loads of corny Independence Day jokes?

https://t.co/nUFRXZk36q

#IndependenceDayDadJokes

29/1776

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

Why couldn't the Declaration be signed until the North Carolina delegation arrived?

Because they had to wait for someone to bring a Penn!

#IndependenceDayDadJokes

28/1776

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

Why did Paul Revere ride a horse yelling "The British are coming!"?

Because the horse was too heavy to carry.

#IndependenceDayDadJokes

27/1776

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

Did you hear what the colonials said about the Stamp Act?

That it didn't make a lick of sense!

#IndependenceDayDadJokes

26/1776

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

Why did King George III give his dog up for adoption?

He learned it was a Yankee Poodle.

#IndependenceDayDadJokes

25/1776

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

Did you know King George III complained his palace was haunted by ghosts?

Turns out it was the Spirit of '76.

#IndependenceDayDadJokes

24/1776

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

#IndependenceDayDadJokes

23/1776

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

Did you know Alexander Hamilton ordered lunch with his last dying breath?

He said, "BURR...GRRR!"

#IndependenceDayDadJokes

22/1776

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

Which Founding Father liked bacon more than any of the others?

Alexander HAMilton.

#IndependenceDayDadJokes

21/1776

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

Did you hear Hollywood is making a horror movie about the Revolutionary War?

It's starring Benjamin FranklinSTEIN.

#IndependenceDayDadJokes

20/1776

[Sheldon Gilbert @SheldonGilbert]

What did the Continental Army nickname Benedict Arnold?

Uncle SHAM.

#IndependenceDayDadJokes

19/1776