The Battle for the Constitution
A special project on the constitutional debates in American life, in partnership with the National Constitution Center
Support for this project was provided by the Madison Initiative of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. (More)
The Troubling Ideals at the Heart of Abortion Rights
Equality premised on the power to end life is not true equality at all.
-
![]()
J. Scott Applewhite / AP Abuse of Power Is a Dangerous Standard for Democrats to Play With
Republicans are surely learning a lesson: An impeachable offense is what you say it is.
-
![]()
Sarah Silbiger / Reuters An Impeachment Trial Without Witnesses Would Be Unconstitutional
And a resulting acquittal verdict would present Americans with something far worse than a constitutional crisis.
-
![]()
Andy Clark / Reuters The Necessity of the Indian Child Welfare Act
A case now before the Fifth Circuit threatens to upend the laws that enable Native self-governance.
-
-
![]()
Stephanie Keith / Reuters Guns Are No Mere Symbol
Protesters gathered at the Virginia state capitol on Monday to exercise their First Amendment rights, but they did so in a way that took away the First Amendment rights of others.
-
![]()
Klara Auerbach / The Atlantic The Disintegration of the American Presidency
The president’s job is to oversee the whole of the executive branch, but under Trump the inverse is happening.
-
![]()
Brendan Smialowski / The New York Times / ... The Person Who Changes the Constitution
One civil servant will determine whether the ERA gets added to America’s founding document—the question is which authority he’ll turn to for guidance.
-
![]()
Steve Helber / AP Bill Barr Doesn’t Get to Decide What’s in the Constitution
Somebody has to determine whether the ERA is valid or not, and without quite saying so, the Department of Justice is claiming that person is none other than Attorney General Bill Barr.
-
![]()
Associated Press Prohibition Was a Failed Experiment in Moral Governance
A repealed amendment and generations of Supreme Court rulings have left the constitutional regulation of private behavior in the past. Will it stay there?
-
![]()
Julie Jacobson / Reuters How to—Carefully—Surmount the Electoral College
There is a plan that can get the country closer to having a national popular election for president within the current constitutional framework, and without the need for a constitutional amendment.
-
![]()
Corbis / Getty The Court Case That Could Finally Take Down Antiquated Anti-Catholic Laws
Thirty-seven states still have Blaine Amendments on the books. The Supreme Court now has a chance to get rid of them for good.
-
![]()
Erin Scott / Reuters How to Stop a War
Congress has a number of tools it can—and should—wield to rein in the president.
-
![]()
Tom Brenner / Reuters Law in War Isn’t as Irrelevant as People Fear
But it still should matter more than it does.
-
![]()
Tom Brenner / Reuters The Soleimani Strike Defied the U.S. Constitution
If Congress fails to respond effectively, the constitutional order will be broken beyond repair, and the president will be left with the unmitigated power to take the country to war on his own—anywhere, anytime, for any reason.
-
![]()
Katie Martin / The Atlantic America Is Now the Divided Republic the Framers Feared
John Adams worried that “a division of the republic into two great parties … is to be dreaded as the great political evil.” And that’s exactly what has come to pass.
-
![]()
Tom Brenner / Reuters The Legal Questions Still Unanswered by Trump’s Impeachment
What exactly is abuse of power? And, for that matter, what is “obstruction of Congress”?
-
![]()
OLIVIER DOULIERY / Getty How Trump Is Warping the Military’s Place in the Constitutional Order
The country’s armed services can be an important check against lawlessness in the civilian executive. But correcting bad presidential policy is a job the Constitution leaves to Congress.
-
![]()
Chris Lee / VII Mentor Program / Redux America’s Most Under-Appreciated Right
Groups of citizens regularly exercise the right to assemble, but too often American political and cultural leaders ignore it.
-
![]()
Klara Auerbach How TV Taught America Bad Constitutional Law
The Twenty-Fifth Amendment was never meant to be used to remove a terrible—albeit alert—president from office. But that’s not what the country has learned from Hollywood.
-
![]()
Everett / Library of Congress / Paul Spella ... Madison’s Notes Don’t Mean What Everyone Says They Mean
The Founding Father’s account of the Constitutional Convention includes a famous conversation about causes for impeachment. But the relevant portion of his notes isn’t what it seems.
-
![]()
Shutterstock / Billion Photos / Arsh Raziuddin / ... Why Republicans Are Refusing to Testify
Dishonesty and disinformation have become regular features of America’s national discourse, but under oath, truth still matters.
