The 50 Constitutions project is a landmark effort to document and digitize the full history of every state constitution in the United States—many for the first time in an accessible format. 

Led by the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School in partnership with the Karsh Institute and the Karsh Center for Law and Democracy at the UVA School of Law, the project sheds light on the evolving rights, responsibilities, and governing structures that shape American life at the state level. By equipping policymakers, educators, journalists, and citizens with a comprehensive resource on state constitutions, the project deepens understanding of federalism, strengthens civic engagement, and fosters institutional trust. State constitutions have long been engines of democratic innovation, and this initiative provides the tools to learn from that history and to apply its lessons to today’s most pressing political challenges.

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