How the Warren Court Expanded Civil Rights in AmericaAs chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Warren led a court that decided multiple historic rulings on civil rights cases.Read more
How John Marshall Expanded the Power of the Supreme CourtBefore Marshall became chief justice in 1801, the Supreme Court operated out of a borrowed room and wielded little authority.Read more
How the Salem Witch Trials Influenced the American Legal SystemThose accused lacked basic legal protections, including the premise that one was innocent until proven guilty.Read more
Voting Rights Milestones in America: A TimelineThrough the decades, the right to vote in U.S. elections has seen massive change and expansion.Read more
The Native American Government That Helped Inspire the US ConstitutionThe constitutional framers may have viewed Indigenous people of the Iroquois Confederacy as inferior, but that didn’t stop them from admiring their federalist principles.Read more
How the US Constitution Has Changed and Expanded Since 1787Through amendments and legal rulings, the Constitution has transformed in some critical ways.Read more
Why We Have the Third Amendment—and Why It Rarely Comes Up in CourtThe Third Amendment addressed colonists’ grievances with British soldiers, and has since played only a small role in legal cases.Read more
Thomas Jefferson Signed the Insurrection Act in 1807 to Foil a Plot by Aaron BurrWith his political career in ruins after killing Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr set off to claim lands in the Southwest—and President Jefferson intended to stop him.Read more
When the Founding Fathers Settled States’ vs. Federal Rights—And Saved the NationThe word ‘federalism’ doesn’t appear in the Constitution, but the concept is baked into the document as a novel approach to establishing state and national powers.Read more
How the 1876 Election Tested the Constitution and Effectively Ended ReconstructionDisputed returns and secret back-room negotiations put Republican Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House—and Democrats back in control of the South.Read more
The Founding Fathers Feared Foreign Influence—And Devised Protections Against ItThe Founding Fathers had just broken free from one empire, and the idea that foreign power could influence their young democracy was a prominent source of anxiety.Read more
Before Drafting the Bill of Rights, James Madison Argued the Constitution Was Fine Without ItThe founding father worried that trying to spell out all of Americans’ rights in the series of amendments could be inherently limiting.Read more