Akhil Reed Amar

Akhil Reed Amar teaches constitutional law at Yale University. He is the author of The Words That Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840.

Recent Articles

Why Liberal Justices Need to Start Thinking Like Conservatives

America has experienced nothing less than a constitutional earthquake, a jolt caused by deep shifts in the tectonic plates of jurisprudence

By Akhil Reed Amar

The Story Behind the Declaration of Independence's Most Memorable Line

How newspapers and written constitutions brought us "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"

By Akhil Reed Amar

What the Constitution Really Says About Birthright Citizenship

"The Citizenship Clause is one of the richest single sentences in the entire Constitution"

By Akhil Reed Amar and Steven G. Calabresi

What Justice Kennedy's Legacy Could Mean for the Future of the Supreme Court

The most important facet of his legacy is a quality that's increasingly uncommon in Washington

By Akhil Reed Amar

The Real Reason the Electoral College Exists

The Founding Fathers had something particular in mind when they set up the U.S. presidential election system: slavery

By Akhil Reed Amar

Another Similarity Between Lincoln and Obama: They Polarized the Nation

Lincoln was a lightning rod—and Obama is too

By Akhil Reed Amar
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