legal history — Bunk History

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What the Nazis Learned from America

Rigid racial codes in the early 20th century gained the admiration not only of many American elites, but also of Nazi Germany.

by Jessica Blatt via Public Books on July 6, 2017

Elizabeth Freeman.

How Two Massachusetts Slaves Won Their Freedom — And Then Abolished Slavery

What today's activists can learn from their victories.

by Ben Railton via Made By History on July 3, 2017

Dramatic Courtroom Drawings From Decades of American Trials

The Library of Congress' new exhibition is "Drawing Justice: The Art of Courtroom illustration."

by Rebecca Onion via Slate on June 9, 2017

The Many Lives of Pauli Murray

She was an architect of the civil-rights struggle-and the women's movement. Why haven't you heard of her?

by Kathryn Schulz via The New Yorker on April 17, 2017

The History Test

How should the courts use history?

by Jill Lepore via The New Yorker on March 27, 2017

The History of Outlawing Abortion in America

Abortion was first criminalized in the mid 1900s amidst concerns that too many white women were ending their pregnancies.

by Nicola Beisel, Tamara Kay, Livia Gershon via JSTOR Daily on March 10, 2017

The Curious History of Ellis Island

Ellis Island celebrates its 125th anniversary as the federal immigration depot.

by Matthew Wills, R. Lawrence Swanson, Donald F Squires via JSTOR Daily on January 1, 2017

An American flag flying in front of a large Christian cross.

The Religious-Liberty Attack on Transgender Rights

Conservative Christians are out to restore their historical legal privileges.

by David Sehat via Boston Review on May 27, 2016

“Sodomy is not Adultery”: The Clinton Sex Scandal as Queer History

Until fairly recently, President Clinton's narrow definition of adultery would have been backed up by the courts.

by Alison Lefkovitz via NOTCHES on April 7, 2016

The Strange Career of Free Exercise

How efforts to bolster religious liberty set off a chain of unintended consequences.

by Garrett Epps via The Atlantic on April 4, 2016

Members of the 1976 United States Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Warren Burger, center.

It’s Been 40 Years Since the Supreme Court Tried to Fix the Death Penalty— Here’s How It Failed

A close look at the grand compromise of 1976.

by Evan Mandery via The Marshall Project on March 30, 2016

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Going Negative

Judicial dissent in the Supreme Court has a long history.

by Thomas Healy via Boston Review on November 12, 2015

Donald Trump Meet Wong Kim Ark

He was the Chinese-American cook who became the father of ‘birthright citizenship.’

by Fred Barbash via Washington Post on August 31, 2015

To Have and to Hold

Griswold v. Connecticut became about privacy; what if it had been about equality?

by Jill Lepore via The New Yorker on May 25, 2015

How Corrupt Are Our Politics?

A review of Zephyr Teachout's "Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin’s Snuff Box to Citizens United."

by David Cole via New York Review of Books on September 25, 2014

Elder M. Andrew Robinson-Gaither demonstrates for reparations for slavery.

The Thirteenth Amendment and a Reparations Program

The amendment, which brought an end to slavery in the U.S., could be used to begin a national debate on reparations.

by Ramsin Canon via U.S. Intellectual History Blog on July 12, 2014

How the NRA Rewrote the Second Amendment

The Founders never intended to create an unregulated individual right to a gun.

by Michael Waldman via Politico Magazine on May 19, 2014

Baby sleeping in a woman's arms.

What’s the Definition of “Person”?

Two court cases that defined and changed the nature of personhood.

via BackStory on May 10, 2013

Re-mapping American Politics

The redistricting revolution, fifty years later.

by David Stebenne via Origins on February 5, 2012

On the Death Sentence

David Garland makes a powerful argument that will persuade many readers that the death penalty is unwise and unjustified.

by John Paul Stevens via New York Review of Books on December 23, 2010

Anthony Kennedy and the Citizens United ruling.

This Former Supreme Court Justice Is Trying to Salvage His Legacy. It’s Too Late.

The story of how corruption became legal in America isn't just about memos, movements, and legal strategies.

by David Sirota, Jared Jacang Maher via Slate on October 21, 2025

Prisoners in a cell at Pelican Bay Prison in 2011.

A Brief History of Solitary Confinement in America

The use of the punitive tactic exploded a century after US officials had deemed it too torturous.

by Christopher Blackwell via Jewish Currents on October 1, 2025

Chief Justice John Roberts.

The Roberts Court Is Winning Its War on American Democracy

Chief Justice John Roberts has now overseen 20 years of increasingly illiberal rulings by the Supreme Court.

by Matt Ford via The New Republic on September 22, 2025

Plaque of Marbury v. Madison at SCOTUS Building.

Marbury v. Madison: Annotated

Justice John Marshall’s ruling on Marbury v. Madison gave the courts the right to declare acts and laws of the other branches unconstitutional.

by Liz Tracey via JSTOR Daily on July 29, 2025

A Supreme Court Justice Wrote the Greatest “No Kings” Essay in History

This opinion is a milestone in the rule of law and is regularly cited by conservative and liberal justices alike.

by Gerard Magliocca via Slate on July 10, 2025

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson: A Vote for Cutting Off Your Nose

To reduce Virginia’s use of the death penalty, Thomas Jefferson proposed using permanent disfigurement as a punishment for rape, polygamy, and sodomy.

by Matthew Wills, Emily Cock via JSTOR Daily on June 4, 2025

A drawing of John Adams.

John Adams Is Bald and Toothless

A brief history of the Alien and Sedition Acts.

by Michael Liss via 3 Quarks Daily on May 19, 2025

Donald Trump and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

When Presidents Sought a Third (and Fourth) Term

Winning more than two elections was unthinkable. Then came FDR.

by Russell Berman via The Atlantic on May 1, 2025

Chief Justice John Roberts.

So, How Much of Korematsu Did the Supreme Court “Overrule,” Exactly?

Chief Justice John Roberts called it “obvious” that the infamous decision has “no place in law under the Constitution.” Recent events suggest otherwise.

by Madiba K. Dennie via Balls And Strikes on April 14, 2025

Woodrow Wilson delivering his second innaugural address in front of a large crowd.

America Was at Its Trumpiest 100 Years Ago. Here’s How to Prevent the Worst.

During World War I, America lurched toward autocracy. Resistance was minimal.

by Adam Hochschild via Washington Post on April 3, 2025

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