Aug 30, 2022
After four seasons, more than 70 hours, and 75 episodes, Harry and Jon share some parting thoughts on the Constitution, the problems and struggles of interpretation, the role of politics and compromise, and some constitutional near misses. Rejecting the idea of finished products, we nonetheless say goodbye for now....
Aug 23, 2022
Despite the constitutional convention’s tentative rejection of term limits, early presidents establish a custom of two terms (each for their own reasons). After a few presidents flirt with a third (nonconsecutive) term, FDR goes for four, leading Congress to make custom binding. John Tyler takes over for Harrison and...
Aug 16, 2022
Poor initial planning leaves Congressional terms and Congressional sessions badly out of sync, and 130 years’ worth of long and short sessions. A dispute over shipping subsidies rebalances the sessions, but leaves a short lame duck period. Tweaks to the presidential election process solve one problem, permits Congress...
Aug 9, 2022
The 24th Amendment goes halfway toward removing poll taxes—one of the many historical practices used to suppress voting on the basis of race and class—before the Supreme Court expands the scope of the 14th Amendment to go all the way. Earlier voting rights successes, lowering the military draft age to 18, student...
Aug 2, 2022
120 years of corruption and deadlocks finally allow reformers to achieve direct election of Senators, with the hope of a more responsive and functional Senate. (Points for trying, we suppose.) An absent-minded decision by the Federalists strips DC residents of the right to vote, and a legacy of racism leads to continued...