Constilumen
Open the timelineMission

The National Builder.One nation, able to act as one.

You read the Constitution as the charter of a national government strong enough to solve national problems. Uniform rights and rules across the states, and a federal government able to deliver them, are the point.

Take the compassSee how you’d rule

Where you stand. On all five axes.

Reading the Constitution

Leans living document

States and the nation

Strongly national government

The presidency

Leans strong executive

Liberty and order

Balanced

The courts

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

The National Builder

“A more perfect Union means a capable one.”

  • States and the nationStrongly national government
  • Reading the ConstitutionLeans living document
  • The presidencyLeans strong executive

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

  • Treats civil rights as national, not regional
  • Equips government to meet crises and markets that cross state lines

Where you’re tested

  • Concentrated power is harder to check
  • Leaves less room for states to differ

Your docket. How you’d likely rule.

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

DocketThe National Builder
  1. No. 01State v. Federal MandateA governor refuses to carry out a new federal program inside the state.States and the nationSides with the nation: federal law is supreme.
  2. No. 02In re AirstrikesThe President orders sustained airstrikes abroad without asking Congress.The presidencyUpholds the President’s call as Commander in Chief.
  3. No. 03City v. Rally OrganizersA city bans a peaceful rally whose message most residents find hateful.Liberty and orderWeighs the facts; could go either way.
  4. No. 04Challengers v. Popular StatuteA law passed by a wide margin is challenged as unconstitutional.The courtsEnforces the Constitution and strikes the law.
  5. No. 05Petitioner v. Unnamed RightA court is asked to recognize a right the text never names.Reading the ConstitutionRecognizes it from the document’s principles.
  6. No. 06People v. Roadside SearchPolice search a car without a warrant and find evidence of a crime.Liberty and orderWeighs the facts; could go either way.

The clauses you lean on. In the document itself.

The Commerce Clause

Congress regulates commerce among the several states.

The Supremacy Clause

Federal law prevails where it applies.

Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment

Congress may enforce equal protection by law.

Cases that test you. From the record.

The landmark cases that turned on your two strongest axes: states and the nation and reading the constitution.

Your rival: The Federalist Steward

Fifty laboratories, not one blueprint.

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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