The Constitution, on the record. 1787 to now.
A data tool for the history of American law and liberty: what the Court decided, what the people amended, when rights were tested, and how the nation wrote about it. It takes no position. Every entry links to its source.
- 77 landmark decisions
- 27 amendments
- 48 tests of rights and powers
- 239 years
- 19 primary sources
Five layers. One line through history.
Each layer is a different kind of record, kept separately and drawn on the same years, so you can see what happened together without anyone telling you what it meant.
The hard years. In the record’s own words.
Wars, rebellions and attacks have each brought new powers and new limits on liberty. The same test decides what is listed for every era: did it restrict, expand or test a constitutional right or the separation of powers?
1798
Alien and Sedition Acts
Four laws passed during the undeclared naval war with France extend the residency period for naturalization, authorize deportation of non-citizens, and make it a crime to publish “false, scandalous and malicious writing” against the government.
1861
Lincoln authorizes suspension of habeas corpus
At the start of the Civil War, President Lincoln authorizes military commanders to suspend the writ along the rail line between Philadelphia and Washington. Chief Justice Taney, sitting as a circuit judge in Ex parte Merryman, rules that only Congress may suspend it. Congress authorizes suspension in March 1863.
1917
Espionage Act
Two months after the United States enters World War I, Congress makes it a crime to interfere with military operations or recruitment. The Sedition Act of 1918 extends it to “disloyal” speech about the government; that extension is repealed in 1920.
1942
Executive Order 9066
President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorizes military commanders to exclude people from designated areas. About 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, most of them American citizens, are removed from the West Coast and incarcerated.
1950
Internal Security Act
Passed over President Truman’s veto. Requires Communist organizations to register and authorizes detention of suspected subversives in a national emergency. The detention title is repealed in 1971.
2001
USA PATRIOT Act
Expands federal surveillance and investigative powers, including Section 215, which allowed orders for “any tangible things” relevant to a terrorism investigation.
What a nation writes about. Year by year.
Print frequency shows when ideas were in the air. It can’t show whether writers were for or against them, and Constilumen doesn’t guess.
- fascism
- nationalism
- totalitarianism
| Year | fascism | nationalism | totalitarianism |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1790 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 1800 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 1810 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 1820 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.00 |
| 1830 | 0.10 | 0.03 | 0.02 |
| 1840 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.00 |
| 1850 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 0.00 |
| 1860 | 0.00 | 0.06 | 0.00 |
| 1870 | 0.00 | 0.06 | 0.00 |
| 1880 | 0.00 | 0.07 | 0.00 |
| 1890 | 0.02 | 0.77 | 0.00 |
| 1900 | 0.01 | 0.19 | 0.00 |
| 1910 | 0.01 | 0.41 | 0.00 |
| 1920 | 0.04 | 1.2 | 0.00 |
| 1930 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 5.1 | 2.7 | 0.91 |
| 1950 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 0.98 |
| 1960 | 1.2 | 4.1 | 0.58 |
| 1970 | 2.7 | 5.9 | 0.58 |
| 1980 | 1.7 | 4.0 | 0.41 |
| 1990 | 1.3 | 4.3 | 0.54 |
| 2000 | 1.7 | 6.1 | 0.52 |
| 2010 | 1.9 | 7.0 | 0.65 |
| 2020 | 3.2 | 10 | 1.0 |
The Court changes its mind. On the record.
7 decisions in the collection overruled an earlier one, and 5 more were answered by amendment.
No position. Only the record.
Constilumen is a reference, not an argument. These are the rules it is built on.
Sourced, always
Every decision, amendment and event links to an opinion, statute, archive or official history. Downloaded data records where and when it was retrieved.
Measured, not labeled
We count, date and quote. We never call a person, party or era a name. Where a word like fascism appears, it is a term people printed, not our verdict.
One test, every era
The rules that decide what appears are the same in 1798 and today, whoever held power. They are written down and you can check them.
Thirteen eras. Start anywhere.
From the founding to the recent era, each with its decisions, amendments, events and language.
Read the record for yourself. Draw your own conclusions.
Every decision, amendment and event links to its source. Nothing here asks you to agree with anything.