An Impeachment Trial Without Witnesses Would Be Unconstitutional
And a resulting acquittal verdict would present Americans with something far worse than a constitutional crisis.
The Battle For The Constitution
A special project on the constitutional debates in American life, in partnership with the National Constitution Center
Information
This work was commissioned, produced, and edited by The Atlantic's editorial staff. Support for this work was provided in part by the organizations listed here.
Support for this project was provided by the Madison Initiative of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
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.
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.
This Is Not the Senate the Framers Imagined
The Constitution originally provided for the selection of senators by state legislatures, but the Seventeenth Amendment changed that, and with it, the Senate itself.
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.
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.
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.
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A repealed amendment and generations of Supreme Court rulings have left the constitutional regulation of private behavior in the past.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?
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.
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.