The American Constitution Society (ACS) was founded in 2001 in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bush v. Gore, which demonstrated the conservative legal movement’s mounting influence in shaping the ideology of our federal courts, including our highest court. ACS set out to build a national progressive legal network that could bring together lawyers, students, scholars, judges, elected officials, and advocates in support of laws and legal systems that safeguard democracy, uphold the rule of law, and improve the lives of all people, not the special interests of a few.
Today, ACS is the nation’s foremost progressive legal organization, with over 250 student and lawyer chapters across the country. At a time when our democracy and the rule of law are facing unprecedented threats in the modern era, including from those on the federal bench, ACS’s work has never been more important than it is today. From our elections, to our courts, to our legislatures, lawyers and their allies are on the frontlines of protecting American democracy – lawyers who are members of ACS.