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WE THE PEOPLE
Column by Dr. David Adler
Funded by the 'Why It Matters: Civic and Electoral Participation' initiative, administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Judicial Expansion of Presidential Power Defies Hamilton’s Reassurances
Constitutional conversations about the Supreme Court often begin with Alexander Hamilton’s famous description of the judiciary in...
Brenna Gerhardt
Jul 233 min read
The Supreme Court’s Deference to Presidency is Rewriting the Constitution
The Supreme Court’s pattern of deference to the executive has rocked our constitutional foundations and invited presidential disregard of...
Brenna Gerhardt
Jul 163 min read
Declaration of Independence: Sheet Anchor of the Republic
The Declaration of Independence, which Abraham Lincoln called the “sheet anchor of the republic,” spurred the articulation of American...
Brenna Gerhardt
Jul 93 min read
The Framers’ Why: Rejecting Presidential Control of Warmaking and Foreign Affairs
The Trump Administration’s inability to identify persuasive legal footing for Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to bomb Iran, whether on...
Brenna Gerhardt
Jun 253 min read
Commander in Chief Clause: Its Modest Origins Under a Microscope
The confluence of the 250th anniversary of the creation of the U.S. Army, President Donald Trump’s deployment of the California National...
Brenna Gerhardt
Jun 183 min read
Trump’s Troop Deployment Scrambles Constitutional Arrangements
Since his inauguration, President Donald Trump has engaged in a sustained program to scramble our constitutional arrangements and upend...
Brenna Gerhardt
Jun 113 min read
We Cannot Trust Parchment Barriers Against the Encroaching Spirit of Power
The ongoing efforts of federal judges to contain President Donald Trump’s usurpation of congressional authority reflects an enduring...
Brenna Gerhardt
Jun 43 min read
Security for Judges is Essential to Judicial Independence and the Rule of Law
Reporting from the Wall Street Journal over the Memorial Day weekend that a security committee at the federal Judicial Conference in...
Brenna Gerhardt
May 283 min read
Emoluments Clause Means No Airplane for Trump Without Congressional Consent
Few provisions of the Constitution speak with the clarity of the Emoluments Clause which, if obeyed by President Donald Trump, prohibits...
Brenna Gerhardt
May 213 min read
Remembering Justice David Souter: The Supreme Court Could Use More Like Him
Many Americans may have missed this week the passing of Justice David Souter, who retired from the Supreme Court in 2009, after a...
Brenna Gerhardt
May 143 min read
“Is the President Required to Uphold the Constitution?”
In an interview on May 4, 2025, with Kristen Welker, host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” President Donald Trump was asked: “Don’t you need to...
Brenna Gerhardt
May 73 min read
The First 100 Days: Trump’s Efforts to Transform America Rests on Ahistorical Personalization of Power
One of the more remarkable features of President Donald Trump’s ongoing, yet unfulfilled, effort in the first 100 days of his second term...
Brenna Gerhardt
Apr 303 min read
The Premise of Judicial Finality Requires Presidential Compliance with Judicial Rulings
President Trump’s continued defiance of a federal court order, embraced by the U.S. Supreme Court, to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar...
Brenna Gerhardt
Apr 233 min read
When Presidential Claims Collide with the Court, Due Process and the Rule of Law
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court instructed the Trump Administration to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an infamous...
Brenna Gerhardt
Apr 163 min read
Indiscriminate DOGE Cuts Harm the States, Humanities, History and Culture
DOGE is not what it purports to be. The indiscriminate, arbitrary cuts across dozens of federal agencies reflect neither its...
Brenna Gerhardt
Apr 93 min read
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