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Open the timelineMission

The Madisonian.Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.

You read the Constitution first as a machine for dividing power. No branch should be able to act alone on the things that matter most, and the presidency in particular should answer to Congress and the courts.

Take the compassSee how you’d rule

Where you stand. On all five axes.

Reading the Constitution

Balanced

States and the nation

Balanced

The presidency

Strongly checked executive

Liberty and order

Leans individual liberty

The courts

Balanced
Original meaningLiving documentNational governmentStatesThe Originalist SentinelThe Federalist StewardThe Constitutional LibertarianThe Civil Liberties ChampionThe Living ConstitutionalistThe National BuilderThe Strong but Fair ExecutiveThe Guardian of OrderThe MajoritarianThe Pragmatic Centrist
The Madisonian (filled) among the other 10. Hover a dot for its name.

The Madisonian

“Power checks power, or nothing does.”

  • The presidencyStrongly checked executive
  • Liberty and orderLeans individual liberty
  • Reading the ConstitutionBalanced

constilumen.com/play/compass

Your profile card. What you’d share.

Take the compass and your own card shows your scores on every axis. Copy the link to your result and anyone who opens it sees the same picture.

Where you’re strong

  • Consistent across parties: the limits apply whoever holds office
  • Takes Congress’s war and spending powers seriously

Where you’re tested

  • Can leave the government slow in a real emergency
  • Gridlock is a feature to you and a failure to others

Your docket. How you’d likely rule.

Six hypothetical cases, decided from where The Madisonian stands on each one’s axis. Hypothetical on purpose: no real judge’s record is implied.

DocketThe Madisonian
  1. No. 01State v. Federal MandateA governor refuses to carry out a new federal program inside the state.States and the nationWeighs the facts; could go either way.
  2. No. 02In re AirstrikesThe President orders sustained airstrikes abroad without asking Congress.The presidencyRequires a vote of Congress.
  3. No. 03City v. Rally OrganizersA city bans a peaceful rally whose message most residents find hateful.Liberty and orderStrikes the ban: the rally goes ahead.
  4. No. 04Challengers v. Popular StatuteA law passed by a wide margin is challenged as unconstitutional.The courtsWeighs the facts; could go either way.
  5. No. 05Petitioner v. Unnamed RightA court is asked to recognize a right the text never names.Reading the ConstitutionWeighs the facts; could go either way.
  6. No. 06People v. Roadside SearchPolice search a car without a warrant and find evidence of a crime.Liberty and orderExcludes the evidence: get a warrant.

The clauses you lean on. In the document itself.

Article I, Section 8

Congress declares war and holds the purse.

Article II, Section 3

The President must take care that the laws be faithfully executed, not made.

Impeachment

The final check on an officer who will not be checked.

Cases that test you. From the record.

The landmark cases that turned on your two strongest axes: the presidency and liberty and order.

Your rival: The Strong but Fair Executive

Energy in the executive, under the law.

Read their side

Further reading. Official and nonpartisan.

The Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments, as ratified in 1791.

National Archives

Register to vote

Registration deadlines and how to register in every state and territory.

U.S. government

Constitution Annotated

The official, clause-by-clause analysis of how the Constitution has been interpreted.

Library of Congress

The Interactive Constitution

Each clause explained by scholars from different perspectives.

National Constitution Center

All civic resources, including how to register to vote and find your election office.

All 11 constitutionalists. Which are you?

The MadisonianAmbition must be made to counteract ambition.The Originalist SentinelThe words meant something, and they still do.The Federalist StewardFifty laboratories, not one blueprint.The Constitutional LibertarianThe Bill of Rights is a list of things government may not do.The Civil Liberties ChampionRights are most tested when they are least popular.The Living ConstitutionalistA charter meant to endure for ages to come.The National BuilderOne nation, able to act as one.The Strong but Fair ExecutiveEnergy in the executive, under the law.The Guardian of OrderTo insure domestic Tranquility.The MajoritarianLet the people decide.The Pragmatic CentristIt depends on the case.
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