When the Framers of the Constitution sent their handiwork out to the states for ratification in 1787, opponents denounced it. The new system of government, they argued, threatened to take away power from the states and the people and give it to the federal government. Many of these Anti-Federalists, as they were called, agreed to support ratification, though, in return for a promise that the new Congress would quickly add amendments protecting the people’s rights. James Madison took the lead, and the First Congress proposed twelve amendments. In 1791, ten of them, now known as the Bill of Righ ..read more

We, the co-authors of Fault Lines in the Constitution, are ecstatic that the opening story of our first chapter is now obsolete. Why do we want that story to be out of date just three years after it was last published? Because it’s about a lynching, the unjust hanging of a Black man named Richard Puckett. Unfortunately, the rest of the chapter, which is about the problems with our bicameral legislature, is still timely. But lynching is finally a federal crime. Many of our blog posts raise questions for you to talk and think about. For instance, we’ve asked: “Your Turn! How Would You Write a ..read more

Readers of Fault Lines in the Constitution and of this blog are probably aware that the title, which was brilliantly suggested by our editor, Kathy Landwehr, relates to geology. Just as the Earth contains underground fault lines that slip, slide, and sink, causing earthquakes, so does the basis of our Constitution contain fractures that can demolish our government. Furthermore, there are many kinds of geological fault lines, including tectonic, volcanic, collapsing, and explosive. Similarly, we discuss twenty kinds of constitutional fault lines in the book. Earth—and likely many people around ..read more

Fault Lines in the Constitution addresses twenty fundamental problems in our Constitution that can lead to political and governmental disarray. Regrettably, we did not include a twenty-first chapter on the Impeachment Clause but we tried to make up for it by posting “Impeachment: A Mini-Chapter on What It Is, What It Isn’t, and What Nobody Knows” on this blog. And now, in response to recent events, we want to explore a different clause in the Constitution—the Supremacy Clause—and raise the question: is this aspect of our government another fault line? Or is it actually solid bedrock that shou ..read more

Members of Congress used to congratulate themselves (and occasionally each other) on their bipartisanship, that is the ability for Republicans and Democrats to negotiate on legislation, reach agreement, and pass laws, shaking—or waving—hands across the aisle. Crafting such laws required compromises on both sides. And sometimes on more than two sides, since Democrats must often bargain with fellow Democrats and Republicans with fellow Republicans before they can even begin negotiating with members of the other party. Almost all major laws passed by Congress involve compromises to reach the nec ..read more

What’s a constitution for, anyway? What good does one do? What use is it? Several countries, including Britain, Israel, and New Zealand, seem to get along fine without any constitution at all. So, why bother to have one? After all, we’ve been writing for years about the troubles ours causes! Still, there must be reasons, given that almost all countries have adopted constitutions since the late eighteenth century. An historian named Linda Colley believes they arose because rulers wanted to tax their subjects to pay for ever-more-expensive armies and navies. In fact, two of the most ..read more

In a recent blog post, we asked two questions. How would you design a new constitution? What would your government look like? The reason we asked these questions is that one of the coauthors of Fault Lines in the Constitution was offered the opportunity to head up an unofficial constitutional convention. Michael Tomasky, the editor of Democracy magazine, charged Sandy with designing a government for America for the twenty-first century. After many years of finding fault with our founding document, Sandy had the chance to try to correct Framers’ missteps and to update it. So, how did he do it ..read more