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Articles on US Constitution

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In this rare photograph taken in 2000, prisoners at the Ferguson Unit in Texas are seen working in the prison’s cotton fields. Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

The 13th Amendment’s fatal flaw created modern-day convict slavery

The 13th Amendment is given credit for freeing an estimated 4 million enslaved people during the Civil War era. It also enabled a prison system of free labor and involuntary servitude.
Protesters used violence and intimidation to prevent federal officials from collecting a whiskey tax during George Washington’s presidency. Archive Photos/Getty Images

Political rage: America survived a decade of anger in the 18th century – but can it now?

Like today, passions were strong and political discourse was inflamed in late 18th-century America. Angry mobs torched buildings. Virginians drank a toast to George Washington’s speedy death.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (standing) talks with volunteers who are phone-banking against the recall on Aug. 13, 2021, in San Francisco. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

California recall: There’s a method to what looks like madness

It’s easy to make fun of California politics. But a longtime scholar of those politics says the attempt to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom is part of a long-running attempt to hold government accountable.
Republican politicians have championed legislation to limit the teaching of material exploring how race and racism influence American politics, culture and law. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File

Lawsuits over bans on teaching critical race theory are coming – here’s what won’t work, and what might

New state laws in the US banning teaching about systemic racism raise the question: Does the Constitution protect public school teachers’ right to choose how and what to teach?
Illuminating recent Supreme Court rulings. Geoff Livingston via Getty Images

Religion at the Supreme Court: 3 essential reads

Religion was a common theme in some of the cases to come before the nine justices in the recently concluded Supreme Court term. Three experts help explain what is at stake.
The Second Amendment declares the importance of state-government authorized militias, like these National Guard troops guarding the California State Capitol building. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

Why the Second Amendment protects a ‘well-regulated militia’ but not a private citizen militia

A recent federal court ruling appeared to expand Second Amendment rights to private citizen militias, which a historian of early America explains is not what the founders intended.

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