The U.S. Constitution is not a static document. Across more than two centuries, pivotal moments of crisis, debate, and institutional conflict have forced Americans to confront the document’s meaning, limits, and possibilities. These seven episodes—spanning Founding-era debates, Reconstruction’s radical redefinition of citizenship, the New Deal’s clash over federal power, and modern tests of executive authority…
In 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal, a constitutional crisis that tested the resilience of American democracy. Fast forward to 2025, President Donald Trump’s administration is embroiled in a series of controversies that some legal scholars argue present even more profound challenges to the nation’s legal and constitutional frameworks. This essay examines…