If Democrats embrace and deploy the Constitution leading up to the 2024 election, it will enable them to offer a confident message based on the hallowed principles of America’s founding charter.
Why do government policies sometimes fail to reflect the public will? The answer begins with the design of the US government system, forged in the 18th century.
A scholar of 18th-century America and the founders analyzes the Supreme Court opinion overturning the constitutional right to abortion, which he says relies on an incomplete version of US history.
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.
The Founding Fathers were unrelenting in their commitment to the idea that circumstances can arise that require public officials to take actions abridging individual freedoms.
Three approaches were debated during the Constitutional Convention – election by Congress, selection by state legislatures and a popular election, though that was restricted to white landowning men.
Taking oath is an important tradition before assuming charge of a public office. It entails a commitment to the future. What is the history of oath-taking?
Trump’s backers say he is shielded from removal as no criminal offense took place. But this view may be at odds with the original intent of the impeachment clause.
Peter C. Mancall, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
When the founders wrote the Constitution, they had to devise a punishment fitting for a civil servant’s impeachment. One possible punishment: banishment from the community.
A little-known provision of the Constitution might allow Trump to be reelected president in 2020 even if he is removed from office through the impeachment process.
Amid all the Mueller report uncertainty, one thing is clear: Donald Trump did some wildly improper things to win the presidency. So did Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, JFK and George W. Bush.
Interim Dean, College of Education // J.F. Ackerman Professor of Social Studies Education // Director, Ackerman Center // Associate Director, Purdue Center for Economic Education, Purdue University