Constitution

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• 4/14/19
  

  The Electoral College and the Myth of a Proslavery Ploy

  by Sean Wilentz

  A Reply to Akhil Reed Amar.

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• 4/7/19
  

  James Madison Responds to Sean Wilentz

  by Alan Singer

  The Electoral College may not have been expressly designed only to protect African slavery, but based on Madison’s notes, it was the mode most preferred by pro-slavery forces.

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  4/4/19
  

  The Electoral College Was Not a Pro-Slavery Ploy

  by Sean Wilentz

  There is a lot wrong with how we choose the president. But the framers did not put it into the Constitution to protect the South.

• 
• SOURCE: Vox
  4/1/19
  

  Which parts of the US Constitution have aged least well?

  by Jennifer Victor

  Jennifer Victor explains two of the biggest mistakes baked into US government from the start: slavery and suffrage.

• 
• 3/24/19
  

  What Democratic Socialism Is and Is Not

  by Lawrence Wittner

  Of course, democratic socialism might not be what you want.  But let’s not pretend that it’s something that it’s not.

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• SOURCE: NBC News
  3/21/19
  

  Trump Can Be Indicted – Here's the Constitutional Proof

  by Mark Medish

  Impeachment by Congress is one way to remove a president from office. Indictment and prosecution for a federal felony provide a separate avenue.

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• SOURCE: Seattle Times
  3/8/19
  

  The Constitution must be our ‘political religion’: Remembering Lincoln’s words

  by Eli Merritt

  President Lincoln's words remind us that to survive as a democracy we must transcend our racial, religious, regional and party affiliations, and embrace the Constitution and the rule of law.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  2/13/19
  

  Christian student challenged a school history lesson on Islam and lost in court

  As a high school junior, Caleigh Wood refused to complete a history lesson on “The Muslim World” that she said forced her to embrace Islam in conflict with her Christian faith — and the Constitution.

• 
• SOURCE: Fox News
  2/11/19
  

  George Washington letter on God and the Constitution surfaces

  The letter, which is priced at $140,000, is up for sale at Ardmore, Pa.-based historical document dealer The Raab Collection.

• 
• 2/16/19
  

  What To Know About the History of Impeachment

  by Peter Charles Hoffer

  A primer on the constitutional basis of impeachment, when it's been used before, and what that means for our current political moment. 

• 
• SOURCE: The Guardian
  1/31/19
  

  Voter suppression carries slavery's three-fifths clause into the present

  by Imani Perry

  The Georgia governor’s election was the latest example of how James Madison’s words continue to shape our views on race.

• 
• 2/16/19
  

  How the Shortest Presidency Spurred a Brief Constitutional Crisis

  by Suzy Evans

  William Henry Harrision only served as president for 31 days but he still sparked a constituional debate. 

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• SOURCE: NYT
  11-28-18
  

  Are Civics Lessons a Constitutional Right? This Student Is Suing for Them

  Many see the lack of civics in schools as a national crisis. A federal lawsuit says it also violates the law.

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  11-12-18
  

  What Happened When a Nation Erased Birthright Citizenship

  by Jonathan M. Katz

  The Dominican Republic deported an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 people of Haitian descent over three years. Those left behind live in a state of institutionalized terror.

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• SOURCE: Vanity Fair
  10-30-18
  

  The Intellectual Origins of Trump’s Chilling Immigration Plan

  It can be traced to a paper that came out of the right-wing Claremont Institute in the 1990s.

• 
• SOURCE: History channel
  10-30-18
  

  Why the United States Has Birthright Citizenship

  America didn’t always extend citizenship to those born within its borders.

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• SOURCE: NYT
  10-31-18
  

  Donald Trump’s Unconstitutional Dreams

  by Eric Foner

  The president has birthright citizenship all wrong.

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• SOURCE: The Washington Post
  10-30-18
  

  Trump eyeing executive order to end birthright citizenship, a move most legal experts say runs afoul of the Constitution

  An executive order would be certain to spark a constitutional debate about the meaning of the 14th Amendment.

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  10-30-18
  

  The Citizenship Clause Means What It Says

  by Garrett Epps

  The authors of the Fourteenth Amendment were clear that the United States is one nation, with one class of citizens, and that citizenship extends to everyone born here.

• 
• SOURCE: Politico
  9-8-18
  

  Stop Talking About the 25th Amendment. It Won’t Work on Trump.

  by David Greenberg and Rebecca Lubot

  And it might just set off a constitutional crisis.