The United States Constitution was designed to moderate our most volatile disagreements. Since human beings are notoriously bad at self-restraint, the Framers set up a system of checks and balances, forcing any side in a controversy to make their case to the public. What's often overlooked is how the basic principles of the Constitution - free speech and due process - give us the social skills to disagree well.

This presentation considers how the structure and principles of the Constitution gives us a chance to become better opponents, smarter contrarians, and more savvy about the greater good. We'll consider times when immoderate men threatened a Constitutional crisis and how citizens, like Justin Morrill, kept the constitutional faith alive.