Think Tank

Read CAC’s original scholarship exploring the progressive arc of the Constitution’s text and history, as well as critical questions presented in laws passed by Congress.
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The Freedmen's Bureau / Drawn by A.R. Waud, Library of Congress

In Brief

CAC produces scholarship showing that the Constitution’s text and history command progressive results. Through our expert commentary, issue briefs, in-depth think tank series, and in testimony to Congress, we inform the public and America’s elected leaders with comprehensive accounts of the most contentious and timely topics in modern constitutional and federal law.

As Yale Law Professor and CAC Advisor Jack M. Balkin has said:

“[T]he folks at the Constitutional Accountability Center have been showing liberals and progressives why originalism is important to a progressive vision of the Constitution. In the world of ideas, winning people over takes time and persistence. It requires devotion to what you believe in and a determination to make the best arguments you can. Success is not guaranteed, but if you don’t make the effort, you will have no influence.”

Think Tank Series

Text and History Narratives

Every provision of the Constitution has a narrative, a story of the people, events, and cases behind its drafting and passage, and of the debates, both in the courts and the political branches, about its meaning. Through this series, CAC tells the most important and compelling stories about our founding document and efforts to improve it over the years.

Think Tank Series

The Roberts Court at 10

In June 2015, John Roberts finished his tenth year as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In this series, through an exploration of the votes he has cast, the decisions he has written, and the way he has led the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary, CAC offers insights into whether Roberts has lived up to the promises he made during his confirmation hearings.

Think Tank Series

The Constitution at a Crossroads

In the first 10 years of the Roberts Court, many of its landmark cases split sharply along ideological lines. In this series, CAC attempts to map and describe the divisions in both ideology and judicial philosophy on the Roberts Court, and examine how those divides have impacted the Court’s answers to important questions about the meaning of our Constitution.