From the very earliest days of independence, the struggle of African Americans for their rights has defined the idea of freedom in the United States.
Articles on US Constitution
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Montesquieu shaped how Americans understood liberty, and his warning about a ‘tyranny of opinion’ speaks to today’s polarization.
Pointing to the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment, the high court ruled that all babies born in the United States ‘are citizens by birth.’
In President Donald Trump’s public language, Congress rarely appears as a coequal branch of government. It appears as an obstacle, an audience, a pressure point, a rubber stamp or an afterthought.
Enslaved people were not just enslaved physically, but mentally as well. as widespread laws in the South barred enslaved people from receiving an education.
Latter-day Saints have long valued the US Constitution’s promise of religious freedom – but the church has also tested its boundaries.
Calls for the Supreme Court to give fossil fuel companies immunity from liability for climate-related damage misreads the Constitution, precedent and the role of courts.
Donald Trump’s suit against the IRS and the settlement creating a $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund to compensate his allies raise important moral and constitutional issues.
The ‘Rededicate 250’ rally raised questions about separation of church and state. Jefferson and Madison’s many letters to each other shed light on that much-debated principle.
Is the US a democracy or a republic? That’s a misleading question, writes a historian of early America. The values of republicanism and the values of democracy have both been vital to the nation.
The White House says criticism of the Trump administration encourages political violence. But this presidency has a track record of attacking free speech.
The US Constitution gives states control of elections. An executive order by President Trump aims to take away that control. A former federal judge says a president can’t just deny the Constitution.
Congress has refused to exercise oversight of the Iran war, with Republicans nixing Democrats’ attempts to exercise legislators’ power over military engagements. That’s nothing new.
The president’s recent behaviour has led to calls for the 25th amendment to be invoked, but it is a highly unlikely and complex process.
Amid lawmakers’ calls for the president’s removal from office, Americans may be wondering what would come next.
The DOJ wants states to send it copies of voters’ names and addresses as well as sensitive information such as driver’s license and Social Security numbers. Here’s why many states have refused.
For Madison, religious freedom was not a tool for political domination. Rather, he saw it as a constitutional safeguard for liberty and democracy.
An FBI raid on a Georgia elections facility has sparked concern about Trump administration interference in the 2026 midterms. An obscure 1970s Supreme Court case provides guardrails against that.
Native American lands contain 30% of the nation’s coal, 50% of its uranium and 20% of its natural gas, as well as copper, lithium and rare earth elements.
In Minnesota, can constitutional protections withstand the actions of a federal government seemingly intent on aggressively violating the rule of law?
Top contributors
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Professor of American Civics, University of Tennessee
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Associate Professor of Law, Arizona State University
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William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College
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Professor Emeritus of Government, Wesleyan University
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Foundation Professor of Law and Political Science, Arizona State University
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Joseph Panzer Chair in Education and Research Professor of Law, University of Dayton
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Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Professional Ethics, Case Western Reserve University
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Associate Professor of Political Science, Westminster College
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Professor of Law and Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Wayne State University
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Associate Professor of Political Science, Rochester Institute of Technology; Institute for Humane Studies
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Associate Professor of Political Science, Boise State University
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Spécialiste de la politique américaine, Sciences Po
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Professor of law and ethics, Georgia State University
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Professor of American History, Università di Torino
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Professor Emeritus of Communication and Rhetorical Studies, Syracuse University