In 1215, the Magna Carta declared that even the king was not above the law

Read the majority opinion that established judicial review

In his opinion in Marbury v. Madison, Chief Justice John Marshall argued that a written constitution is "paramount law" and that courts must refuse to enforce statutes that conflict with it. He declared that "it is emphatically the province and duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is."

The US Bill of Rights drew directly from England's own Bill of Rights

England's 1689 Bill of Rights established protections against cruel and unusual punishment and the right to petition the government. Many of its provisions were adopted nearly word for word by America's founders a century later.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

The roots of American law and the jury system trace back to medieval England

King Henry II established a jury of 12 local knights to settle land disputes in the 12th century, and his judges developed national laws common to everyone. American courts inherited this "common law" tradition directly from the English system.

Trace how the Bill of Rights, inspired by centuries of political theory, took shape between 1774 and 1789.

The framers feared creating another monarchy through an unchecked executive

Having rebelled against British royal power, the framers deliberately limited the presidency—balancing "energy in the executive" with safeguards against tyranny. Debate at the 1787 Constitutional Convention centered on preventing any return to monarchical rule.

The Declaration of Independence became a global blueprint for freedom

This documentary traces how the Declaration's language of liberty resonated through more than 100 independence movements worldwide, demonstrating how a single revolutionary text helped redefine notions of self-rule, rights, and legitimacy across centuries.

Explore the world's oldest constitutions

The 1789 US Constitution remains the oldest active written national constitution. Older systems exist—such as San Marino’s statutes or the Magna Carta—but they are not single, codified constitutions. See how other countries compare in this visualization.

Parliament is the supreme legal authority under the UK's constitutional system

The principle of "parliamentary sovereignty" holds that the UK Parliament can make or repeal any law, and that courts cannot invalidate its legislation. Judicial bodies can reshape governance, but parliamentary laws remain legally supreme.

Read the resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress

Adopted October 19, 1765, the resolutions argued that taxation without colonial consent violated the British constitution, that admiralty courts without juries subverted English liberties, and that paying the tax in hard currency was practically impossible. Each grievance was framed not as rebellion but as a defense of rights the colonists already believed they possessed.

Explore the history and origins of the power of the pardon

The concept of clemency dates back to at least ancient Greece and was later embraced by English monarchs. During the Constitutional Convention, the founders debated whether presidents should have such power—ultimately adopting Alexander Hamilton's expansive view that presidential pardons serve as a check on the justice system.

The man who gave 9 people power over everyone

In the US, nine unelected justices can shape some of the most personal and political parts of our lives. But the Supreme Court wasn't always this powerful. When it was first written into the Constitution, it had no clear authority, no real role, and little public respect.

James Madison's original draft of the First Amendment was far more expansive than what was ratified

Madison's first proposed language guaranteed the right "to speak, to write, or to publish" one's sentiments freely—broader and more explicit than the final text—and described the free press as "one of the great bulwarks of liberty."

How the Code of Justinian formed the basis of modern law

This video explores the significance of Justinian’s Corpus Juris Civilis. The most important component of the Corpus, the Digest, collected the opinions of eminent Roman jurists. The Digest went on to become the legal framework of medieval Europe, and the basis for the civil codes used across two-thirds of the globe today—an underappreciated legacy of Byzantium.

The Articles of Confederation were not a federal system

Ratified in 1781, the Articles of Confederation left the states sovereign and independent, denied the national government power to tax or regulate commerce, and forced Congress to act through the states—exposing the limits of confederation and paving the way for US federalism.

See the Declaration—known as the Matlack Declaration—displayed at the National Archives

The iconic handwritten Declaration displayed at the National Archives was penned by Thomas Matlack, the Continental Congress’s assistant secretary. He was chosen for his exceptional handwriting to prepare the formal copy signed by the delegates.

Adams' famous 1776 letter urged the Founders to 'remember the ladies'

In a March 1776 letter to John, Adams urged the Founders not to grant husbands unchecked power over their wives. Historians note it was not a demand for suffrage but a challenge to coverture—the legal doctrine that denied a married woman an independent identity.

Who said 'rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God'?

As a brief, punchy statement rejecting unjust authority, "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God" became widely adopted during the American Revolution. The phrase is often misattributed to Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, the latter of whom used it on his personal seal. This fact-checked article dives into the history of the phrase, claiming it was first used in 1770 in an epitaph for an English judge. Read more here.

12th-century English monks claimed discovery of King Arthur's bones

The medieval legend of King Arthur and his Queen, Guinevere, is one of the most popular to endure into the modern era. The legend regularly evolved during the Middle Ages, as is seen in this story where a historian from King Henry the Second's court claims the bones of Arthur were discovered at Glastonbury Abbey.

The powers of local government are rooted in state law, not the Constitution

Unlike the federal government or the states, local governments have no constitutional standing—they exist only because state law allows them to. A state legislature can redraw a city's boundaries, strip its powers, or dissolve it entirely.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

The Founders placed the pursuit of happiness at the center of good governance

This podcast explores the central place happiness played in the American founding, highlighting the influence of Greek and Roman moral philosophy on the founders’ constitutional ideas.

King Henry VIII's first divorce is likely the most famous divorce of all time

How often does a divorce change the course of a nation? When English King Henry VIII wanted to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, in the 1500s, Catholicism was the national religion. Even though Catherine didn't produce a male heir, religious leaders refused to grant his wish. In response, King Henry turned his country upside down for the chance to marry the second of his six wives.

For most of human history, property rights were in the elite’s hands

Humans learned to domesticate dogs long before they formed the concept of private property. But by the era of the ancient Greeks and Romans, property law and ownership became more sophisticated.

What are the universal human rights?

This video outlines what basic human rights are, who gets to pick them, who enforces them, and how. The basic idea of human rights states that each of us is entitled to the same basic rights and freedoms, no matter who we are or where we are born....

The Fifth Amendment covers a wide range of legal protections for those accused of a crime

While it is widely known for the right against self-incrimination, the Fifth Amendment also protects against being charged for the same crime twice, requires grand jury indictments for serious crimes, and mandates compensation when the government takes private property for public use.

Listen to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. read his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail

Written in 1963 while jailed for nonviolent protest, Dr. King’s letter defends civil disobedience, rejects calls for patience, and argues that unjust laws must be confronted to expose injustice and force meaningful change.

When Dickens was 12, his father was imprisoned for debt

John Dickens was imprisoned at Marshalsea Debtors' Prison in London for failing to pay his debts. The experience forced the young Charles to leave school to help provide for his family. It also eventually informed his fiction, which often called for social reform, including the abolition of debtors' prisons.

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, and became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

The term 'algorithm' originated from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī, a 9th-century mathematician whose works introduced Arabic numerals and the decimal-based numeral system to Europe and whose treatise 'Al-Jabr' gave algebra its name.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.