Field Notes on the Republic
Caucus, the Most American Word Nobody Can Trace
Every four years, a single word climbs the dictionary lookups: caucus. It is one of the most distinctly American words in the language, and nobody knows where it comes from....
Caucus, the Most American Word Nobody Can Trace
Every four years, a single word climbs the dictionary lookups: caucus. It is one of the most distinctly American words in the language, and nobody knows where it comes from....
The Case for Reading the Constitution Narrowly
When the Supreme Court hands down a decision, the deeper argument is about how the Constitution should be read at all. This essay takes up the case for reading it...
The Case for Reading the Constitution Narrowly
When the Supreme Court hands down a decision, the deeper argument is about how the Constitution should be read at all. This essay takes up the case for reading it...
Ida B. Wells and the Discipline of the Record
In 1892 a young Memphis editor lost three friends to a lynch mob, and what Ida B. Wells did next invented much of how investigative journalism is done. Facing a...
Ida B. Wells and the Discipline of the Record
In 1892 a young Memphis editor lost three friends to a lynch mob, and what Ida B. Wells did next invented much of how investigative journalism is done. Facing a...
Nine Justices, and the Time Someone Tried to Ch...
There are nine justices on the Supreme Court, and the number appears nowhere in the Constitution. In 1937, a popular president freshly reelected by a landslide came very close to...
Nine Justices, and the Time Someone Tried to Ch...
There are nine justices on the Supreme Court, and the number appears nowhere in the Constitution. In 1937, a popular president freshly reelected by a landslide came very close to...
Gerrymander, the 1812 Salamander District
Elbridge Gerry signed the Declaration and served as Vice President, and almost none of that is what his name means today. To gerrymander is to rig the map. The story...
Gerrymander, the 1812 Salamander District
Elbridge Gerry signed the Declaration and served as Vice President, and almost none of that is what his name means today. To gerrymander is to rig the map. The story...
The Jury, Self-Government's Smallest Room
Most self-government happens at a distance, through people we elect. The jury is the exception, the one place the government's power is handed directly to twelve ordinary people in a...
The Jury, Self-Government's Smallest Room
Most self-government happens at a distance, through people we elect. The jury is the exception, the one place the government's power is handed directly to twelve ordinary people in a...