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Jane Hampton Cook and Kyle Jenks

First Amendment Origin Stories and an Interview with James Madison

2021 marks the 230th Anniversary of the Bill of Rights, which was ratified on December 15, 1791, and the 245th Anniversary of Virginia Declaration of Rights.

Have you ever wondered what injustices occurred before and during the Revolutionary War that led Americans to establish the First Amendment? How did “cancel culture” turn Ben Franklin into a free speech and freedom of the press proponent? What happened when the Continental Congress petitioned King George III in 1775? How did John Adams define “diversity”?

In the first half, author Jane Hampton Cook will share origin stories relating to the First Amendment freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.

The second half Hampton Cook will interview a special guest—President James Madison about his role in forming the Bill of Rights.

Jane Hampton Cook (janecook.com) is a National media commentator and award-winning author who brings history and biographies to life, making them memorable and relevant to today’s news, current events, politics, issues of faith, and modern-day life. She is the author of ten books, including her newest books Resilience on Parade: Short Stories of Suffragists and Women’s Battle for the Vote, She is a contributor for The Hill.com and a frequent guest on numerous national media outlets, including the Fox News Channel, CNN, CBN and C-SPAN.

[Photo: Jennifer Davis Heffner, www.Vitaimages.com.]

Kyle Jenks

Kyle Jenks (Jaktar773@aol.com, Instagram: @madisonportrayer, facebook.com/PresidentMadison, leagueofmostinterestinggentlemen.com) is a native of upstate New York. The groundwork he laid for portraying James Madison was as a reenactor of the French and Indian War and American Revolution. In between, he produced an outdoor historical drama, wrote two other plays and collaborated on a third. Kyle moved to Philadelphia in 2017 to portray James Madison as a career and gives a tour in character as Congressman Madison in Philadelphia. He also works for Bow Tie Tours, conducts the Revolution and Founding Fathers Tour for Grim Philly, and is a tour guide aboard Battleship New Jersey. You can support his work at Patreon.com/PresidentMadison.