Refounding America
Preparing America’s Next Chapter in 2029 and Beyond
Refounding America, established in August 2025, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Our mission is to assess the structure and function of the United States government and the rule of law, in order to advance a comprehensive set of programs, policies, and plans that would refound America on durable constitutional principles suitable for the 21st Century.
Our Purpose
Our premise is that the structure and function of the United States government, as described by a rule of law based on the Constitution and legislation, requires substantial change to meet the challenges of the current century. We believe that voters have called for change repeatedly but have not yet obtained the response they deserve.
In addition, we believe that artificial intelligence is likely to affect the practice of governing as profoundly as did the printing press. We cannot imagine the Declaration of Independence producing the American Revolution if the 200 Dunlap broadsides were not circulated to all the colonies. Similarly, we believe the widespread use of artificial intelligence in business and society requires government not to compete against this revolutionary technology but to use it in the never-ending effort to fulfill human capabilities.
We intend to produce a compendium of changes in the structure and function of the national government by January 2029. Our first draft will be opened to comment in January 2027. To develop this compendium, we pursue three prongs: community engagement, lectures to be delivered at numerous universities, and a course to be offered at multiple colleges and universities and in additional community settings. In these three ways we intend to have a compendium created by a broad base of engaged parties, rather than something presented to the many by a few.
We expect candidates, parties, and activists will generate legislative initiatives non-stop until the November 2028 presidential election. We are in an era of ferment. All ideas are welcome, but our project specifically will focus on the structure and function of the national government. We intend to apply Abraham Lincoln’s simple but profound prescription: “The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all, or cannot so well do, for themselves – in their separate, and individual capacities.”
Our Initiatives and Roadmap
Refounding America Courses
Recognizing that current events require public policy, political science, law and other disciplines to re-think their curriculums, we will teach “Refounding America” at Stanford University in fall 2026. Each student’s work will contribute directly to our compendium of reforms and our community engagement for public debate and refinement. The class is designed to be replicated nationwide, creating a pipeline of young civic leaders generating new proposals over time.
Refounding America:
Seeking Structural and Functional Changes in the Government of the United States
Soifer Lectures
This lecture series, sponsored by Refounding America at law schools around the country, is designed to elevate ideas, invite public scrutiny, and inspire participation.
The inaugural Soifer Lecture was delivered at the University of Hawai‘i Law School on March 7, 2025, by Ellen P. Goodman, Distinguished Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School. Her theme, which will be carried forward in additional Soifer lecture in many other schools, is Abraham Lincoln’s Lyceum Address concerning the necessary relationship of culture and law.
“Tyranny.gov: Technologies of Unreason,” University of Hawaiʻi Law Review / Vol. 47:308
Video of Professor Goodman’s Inaugural Soifer Lecture on March 7, 2025
The second Soifer Lecture will be delivered by Risa Goluboff, David and Mary Harrison Professor of Law and Professor of History at the University of Virginia at the University of Hawai’i.
The third lecture, in March 2027, will be delivered by Martha Minow, former dean (2009-2017) and currently 300th Anniversary University Professor, Harvard Law School.
Our goal is to have numerous iterations at schools of law, public policy and related disciplines in many colleges and universities. Each lecture will be livestreamed, transcribed, and distributed online to foster community engagement and to support Refounding America courses.
Community Engagement
Beginning in 2026, Refounding America will launch a participatory initiative, in partnership with civic organizations across the country, in which citizens from all regions and cultural backgrounds will come together and deliberate on their vision for the future of a shared America. These spaces, both in-person and digital, will provide critical community participation by doing the following:
Gather perspectives while promoting dialogue across ideological, geographic, and demographic lines.
Identify which proposals resonate most with the general population.
Provide real-time feedback that strengthens the credibility of the compendium of reforms.
In partnership with proven civic technology organizations such as MIT’s Center for Constructive Communication (CCC), Refounding America is developing a framework for non-partisan and constructive community discussions about solutions to the core issues of the structure and function of the United States government. We will partner with local civic organizations to deploy these meetings in communities across the country, fostering political engagement and building a non-partisan network of civic-minded Americans.
Additionally, we will partner with organizations and AI research institutions like CCC to create a digital platform that is secure, user-friendly, and designed to build trust among participants. The space will host publicized presentations and discussions on government reform ideas. Ongoing feedback will be collected and synthesized to gather broad insights and any emerging consensus. Our community engagement will also be designed to include representation across diverse communities across America.
Compendium of Reforms
Publication of the Refounding America compendium will be the culmination of our work. Our intention is not only to publish proposals in book form but also to have circulated and developed them through all the prongs listed above. Those engaged through these various media will produce ideas that will be the backbone of our work. The first edition will be published in January 2027 to encourage conversation. Our intention is to create this book in a manner not dissimilar to Wikipedia – many organizations and individuals will write various parts, and group iteration will be welcomed. There are and will be many thinkers and doers who have significant and practical reform ideas – we want to create a space for all to participate, with a focus on changes to the current structure and function of our institutions as opposed to drafting the texts of bills or amendments.