Contents

Introduction to Corporate Personhood

Our Bill of Rights was the result of tremendous efforts to institutionalize and protect the rights of human beings. It strengthened the premise of our Constitution: that the people are the root of all power and authority for government. This vision has made our Constitution and government a model emulated in many nations.

But corporate lawyers (acting as both attorneys and judges) subverted our Bill of Rights in the late 1800’s by establishing the doctrine of “corporate personhood” — the claim that corporations were intended to fully enjoy the legal status and protections created for human beings.

We believe that corporations are not persons and possess only the privileges we willfully grant them. Granting corporations the status of legal “persons” effectively rewrites the Constitution to serve corporate interests as though they were human interests. Ultimately, the doctrine of granting constitutional rights to corporations gives a thing illegitimate privilege and power that undermines our freedom and authority as citizens. While corporations are setting the agenda on issues in our Congress and courts, We the People are not; for we can never speak as loudly with our own voices as corporations can with the unlimited amplification of money.

Read our draft constitutional amendment to revoke corporate constitutional “rights,” (published nearly a decade before the Citizens United v FEC ruling). See also Move to Amend’s proposed language.

Read this model resolution to free democracy from corporate control, along with a list of how’s and why’s of resolutions to help you catalyze action in your area.

Overviews

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Current Debates Relating to Corporate Personhood

The Supreme Court’s anti-constitution ruling in Citizens United v FEC sparked two new coalitions to overrule the Court via constitutional amendment: Move To Amend and Free Speech For People (we’re engaged in the former).

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Digging Deeper: Articles, Briefs & Books

Recommended Articles

Recommended Books

Note: we often are asked for “the best” book on the topic, but we can’t single out one. All of the above are excellent reads with different strengths (they are listed from most to least recent). Feel free to ask if you seek a specific focus.

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Significant U.S. Court Cases in the Evolution of Corporate Personhood / Commercial Free Speech

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Campaigns to Revoke Corporate Free Speech

The 2010 Citizens United v FEC decision has generated the most interest in years. See our home page for recent updates, along with Move To Amend, a coalition launched in 2010 to overrule the Court (ReclaimDemocracy.org is a coalition partner).

This campaign dates back to the 2003 Nike v Kasky court battle — one of the highest profile court cases to date regarding “corporate free speech.” We have preserved the large body of material we produced and collected relating to this case (settled out of court after the U.S. Supreme Court passed on any substantive ruling) here.

We used Nike to advance public understanding and legal arguments against granting corporations constitutional rights. Our work included filing a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, doing talk shows and placing op-eds around the country, and direct actions.

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Groups Challenging Corporate Personhood

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Initiatives Challenging Corporate “Rights”

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