The Supreme Court’s work in the 1960s is often cited as a turning point for how the Bill of Rights affects state governments. During that decade, several major opinions required states to respect particular federal protections through the Fourteenth Amendment, a process commonly labeled selective...
READ MORE
March 10, 2026
This explainer, published to inform voters and civic readers, summarizes what the Civil Rights Act of 1960 did and why historians treat it as an incremental federal response. It identifies the Act's main legal tools, describes how enforcement was supposed to work, and points to...
READ MORE
March 10, 2026
This article answers a focused historical question: which two states originally rejected the U.S. Constitution, and why did they change course. It outlines the political and legal context of 1788 to 1790 and points readers to primary institutional sources where the convention debates and votes...
READ MORE
March 10, 2026
This article separates the historical record from the later legal questions to explain why the Equal Rights Amendment did not achieve certification under the original timetable. It summarizes the congressional actions, the state-level political dynamics, and the procedural issues that created enduring uncertainty. The piece...
READ MORE
March 10, 2026