Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
When did Supreme Court justices become the only people allowed to interpret the Constitution? More recently than the court would have you believe.
For more than a century after the Constitution was written, Americans understood that they were its custodians, shaping what it means through politics, movements, and elections.
The tradition is called popular constitutionalism, and its track record includes some of America's finest moments: Reconstruction, the New Deal, the civil rights movement. By The People is Slate's introduction: where the tradition comes from, what it has already achieved, and where it's going.
The American people haven't lost this argument. We've just forgotten how to make it. While the Supreme Court term is over, the argument over who decides what the Constitution means is not.
Listen for more on Amicus, Slate's legal podcast about the courts and the Supreme Court.
#supremecourt #scotus #politcs
When did Supreme Court justices become the only people allowed to interpret the Constitution? More recently than the court would have you believe.
For more than a century after the Constitution was written, Americans understood that they were its custodians, shaping what it means through politics, movements, and elections.
The tradition is called popular constitutionalism, and its track record includes some of America's finest moments: Reconstruction, the New Deal, the civil rights movement. By The People is Slate's introduction: where the tradition comes from, what it has already achieved, and where it's going.
The American people haven't lost this argument. We've just forgotten how to make it. While the Supreme Court term is over, the argument over who decides what the Constitution means is not.
Listen for more on Amicus, Slate's legal podcast about the courts and the Supreme Court.
#supremecourt #scotus #politcs
