Below is a round-up of the latest from the “Battle for the Constitution:” a special project on the constitutional debates in American life, in partnership with The Atlantic.
A Trial Without Witnesses is No Trial at All
By Buckner F. Melton Jr., Author of The First Impeachment
Buckner F. Melton Jr. argues that the exclusion of witnesses and cross-examination during Donald Trump’s impeachment trial undermined the purpose of a trial, and hurt both Democrats and Republicans in the process by not having their arguments fully tested.
The Supreme Court May No Longer Have the Legitimacy to Resolve A Disputed Election
By Richard L. Hasen, Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Political Science, University of California, Irvine
Richard L. Hasen discusses how polarization and questions about the Supreme Court’s neutrality could create serious issues if the Court is forced to resolve a disputed presidential election.
By Adam J. White, Assistant Professor and Executive Director, The C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State, Antonin Scalia Law School
Adam J. White channels James Madison and asserts that, to keep our republic, reason must overcome passion, and the citizenry must be imbued with civility and civic virtue.
The Founding Generation Showed Their Patriotism With Their Money
By Tom Shachtman, Historian and Author of The Founding Fortunes: How the Wealthy Paid for and Profited from America’s Revolution
Tom Shactman contends that some of the Founding generation practiced “economic patriotism”—giving up some of their fortunes for the betterment of the country—and says that example should broaden our understanding of how patriotism can be manifested.
