On Oct. 6, First Parish Church was packed for Jill Lepore’s talk on her new book, “We the People: A History of the U.S.

Originalism is often countered by the idea that the Constitution is a living, breathing document meant to be interpreted and changed along with the times. Jill Lepore is a historian at Harvard ...

In We the People, Jill Lepore argues the Constitution isn’t the parchment paper, but the evolving democratic imagination of the people.

The framers of the Constitution designed a system of government in 1787 that distributed power among three branches—legislative, executive, and judicial. Having just overthrown a king, the framers did ...

Author and historian Jill Lepore’s new book examines the political gridlock that has left many voters disillusioned with both ...

Forget the TV drama of “democracy under attack.” There is no season twist on Capitol Hill, no slick villain delivering a chilling monologue to a string-quartet soundtrack, and no mastermind plotting ...

The Constitution begins “We the people,” not “we the judges.” Lately, there has been a tussle between activist judges and President Trump. Some critics argue that some of these judges are acting as if ...

The 25th amendment. A few years before JFK was shot, an idealistic young lawyer set out on a mission to convince people something essential was missing from the Constitution: clear instructions for ...

We must keep in mind, however, that this wonderful document is only parchment and ink unless the people it governs make it function. The system of checks and balances, the guarantees of liberty, and ...