Subscriber Exclusive: Is the U.S. in a Constitutional Crisis?

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The U.S. Supreme Court is locked in partisanship, originalism is staunchly ideological, and legal scholars warn of constitutional crisis. How did we get here—and how do we get out? 

Renowned historian Jill Lepore argues in her new book, We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution, that the Constitution was always intended to be tweaked and amended. As she writes, the document’s purpose was “to prevent change. But another was to allow change without violence.” So, with polarization soaring, no meaningful amendments in more than 50 years, and political violence on the rise, is it time to change the Constitution?

Lepore sat down with FP’s Ravi Agrawal to address the risks of a constitutional crisis and paths toward an amended future.

Highlights from Jill Lepore

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Don’t Ask Jill Lepore if the United States Is in a Constitutional Crisis

The Harvard historian on government shutdowns and the rights and duties of an American citizen.

Insider  |  Ravi Agrawal

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Is the U.S. in a Constitutional Crisis?

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