Amending the Constitution and the Article V Project

Run time: 58 minutes

The National Constitution Center launches our Article V Project, a new initiative examining the founders’ vision for Article V and the historical use of the amendment process from 1789 to the present. Project contributors and constitutional law scholars Gerard Magliocca, Sanford Levinson, Michael Rappaport, and Stephen Sachs explore the origins, debates and ongoing challenges surrounding Article V in their new essays. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Listen on We the People or watch the America’s Town Hall

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Happy birthday to the Founders’ painter, Gilbert Stuart

by NCC Staff | Read time: 2 minutes

“Born on December 3, 1755 in Rhode Island, Stuart was the portrait artist of choice at the start of the Federal era under our Constitution. His best-known work was never finished—a partial a partial portrait of George Washington that appears on the $1 bill. ... ” Read more

December 6, 1865: The United States formally outlaws slavery

by NCC Staff | Read time: 3 minutes

“On December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment was ratified after the state of Georgia approved the amendment as it was proposed to the states by Congress. That act officially ended the practice of slavery in the United States. ... ” Read more

The Declaration's Grievances Against the King

by Rosemarie Zagarri | Read time: 8 minutes

In the new Interactive Declaration, Rosemarie Zagarri explains that while the list of grievances is today an overlooked part of the Declaration of Independence, the list was arguably the most critical section of the document in 1776.

“One after another, the list provided a litany of the ‘repeated injuries and usurpations’ that Britain had unleashed against the colonies, depriving the colonists of their rights and leading them to seek independence. Significantly, the grievances were not addressed to Parliament, the source of many of Britain’s odious policies, but rather to the King, who was referred to as ‘He . . . ,’ or ‘the present King of Great Britain.’ King George III was clearly and unequivocally held responsible for all the colonists’ travails. Why was this so? …” Read more

13th Amendment

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

Read interpretations in the Interactive Constitution

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