United States Constitution

United States Constitution

Page one of the original copy of the Constitution

Created September 17, 1787

Ratified June 21, 1788

Location National Archives

Authors Delegates of the

Philadelphia Convention

Signers 39 of the 55 Philadelphia

Convention delegates

Purpose National constitution to

replace the Articles of
Confederation

United States of America

 This article is part of the series:
United States Constitution

Original text of the

Constitution
Preamble
Articles of the Constitution
I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII

Amendments to the
Constitution
Bill of Rights
I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII ·
VIII · IX · X
Subsequent Amendments
XI · XII · XIII · XIV · XV
XVI · XVII · XVIII · XIX · XX
XXI · XXII · XXIII · XXIV ·
XXV
XXVI · XXVII

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The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is
the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of
America and the federal government of the United States. It provides the framework for the
organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government
to the states, to citizens, and to all people within the United States.
The Constitution defines the three branches of the national government: a legislature, the
bicameral Congress; an executive branch led by the President; and a judicial branch headed by
the Supreme Court. The Constitution specifies the powers and duties of each branch. The
Constitution reserves all unenumerated powers for the respective states and the people, thereby
establishing the federal system of government.
The United States Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional
Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and ratified by conventions in each U.S. state in the
name of "The People". The Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times; the first ten
amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.[1][2]
The United States Constitution is the shortest and oldest written constitution still in use by any
nation in the world today.[3]
The Constitution has a central place in United States law and political culture.[4] The handwritten
original document penned by Jacob Shallus is on display at the National Archives and Records
Administration in Washington, D.C.

Contents
• 1 History
○ 1.1 Drafting and ratification requirements
○ 1.2 Work of the Philadelphia Convention
○ 1.3 Ratification
○ 1.4 Historical influences
○ 1.5 Influences on the Bill of Rights
• 2 Articles of the Constitution
○ 2.1 Preamble: Statement of purpose
○ 2.2 Article One: Legislative power
○ 2.3 Article Two: Executive power
○ 2.4 Article Three: Judicial power
○ 2.5 Article Four: States' powers and limits
○ 2.6 Article Five: Amendments
○ 2.7 Article Six: Federal power
○ 2.8 Article Seven: Ratification
• 3 Judicial review
• 4 Amendments
○ 4.1 Successful amendments
 4.1.1 The Bill of Rights (Amendments 1 to 10)
 4.1.2 Subsequent amendments (11 to 27)
○ 4.2 Unratified amendments
• 5 Criticism of the Constitution
• 6 Translations
• 7 Original pages of the Constitution
• 8 Commemoration on U.S. postage
• 9 See also
○ 9.1 General
○ 9.2 Related documents
 • 10 Notes
• 11 References
○ 11.1 Primary sources
○ 11.2 Reference books
○ 11.3 Secondary sources
• 12 Further reading
• 13 External links
○ 13.1 National Archives
○ 13.2 Official U.S. government sources
○ 13.3 Non-governmental web sites

History
History of the United States Constitution
Drafting and ratification requirements
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first constitution of the United States
of America.[5]
In September 1786, commissioners from five states met in the Annapolis Convention to discuss
adjustments to the Articles of Confederation that would improve commerce. They invited state
representatives to convene in Philadelphia to discuss improvements to the federal government.
After debate, the Congress of the Confederation endorsed the plan to revise the Articles of
Confederation on February 21, 1787.[6] Twelve states, Rhode Island being the only exception,
accepted this invitation and sent delegates to convene in May 1787.[6] The resolution calling the
Convention specified that its purpose was to propose amendments to the Articles, but through
discussion and debate it became clear by mid-June that, rather than amend the existing Articles,
the Convention decided to propose a rewritten Constitution.[7] The Philadelphia Convention
voted to keep the debates secret, so that the delegates could speak freely. They also decided to
draft a new fundamental government design. Despite Article 13 of the Articles of Confederation
stating that the union created under the Articles was "perpetual" and that any alteration must be
"agreed to in a Congress of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed by the legislatures of
every State,"[8] Article VII of the proposed constitution stipulated that only nine of the thirteen
states would have to ratify for the new government to go into effect (for the participating states).
[1]
Current knowledge of the drafting and construction of the United States Constitution comes
primarily from the diaries left by James Madison, who kept a complete record of the proceedings
at the Constitutional Convention.[9]
Work of the Philadelphia Convention
The Virginia Plan was the unofficial agenda for the Convention, and was drafted chiefly by
James Madison, considered to be "The Father of the Constitution" for his major contributions.[9]
It was weighted toward the interests of the larger states, and proposed among other points:
• A powerful bicameral legislature with a House and a Senate[10]
• An executive chosen by the legislature
 • A judiciary, with life-terms of service and vague powers
• The national legislature would be able to veto state laws

The Philadelphia Convention

An alternative proposal, William Paterson's New Jersey Plan, gave states equal weights and was
supported by the smaller states.[11] Roger Sherman of Connecticut brokered The Great
Compromise whereby the House would represent the people, a Senate would represent the states,
and a president would be elected by electors.[12]
The contentious issue of slavery was too controversial to be resolved during the convention. As a
result, the original Constitution contained four provisions tacitly allowing slavery to continue for
the next 20 years. Section 9 of Article I allowed the continued "importation" of such persons,
Section 2 of Article IV prohibited the provision of assistance to escaping persons and required
their return if successful and Section 2 of Article I defined other persons as "three-fifths" of a
person for calculations of each state's official population for representation and federal taxation.
[13]
Article V prohibited any amendments or legislation changing the provision regarding slave
importation until 1808, thereby giving the States then existing 20 years to resolve this issue. The
failure to do so contributed to the Civil War.[14]
Ratification
Ratification of the Constitution

Date State Votes

Yes No

1 December 7, 1787 Delaware 30 0

2 December 11, 1787 Pennsylvania 46 23

3 December 18, 1787 New Jersey 38 0

4 January 2, 1788 Georgia 26 0

5 January 9, 1788 Connecticut 128 40

6 February 6, 1788 Massachusetts 187 16

 8

7 April 26, 1788 Maryland 63 11

8 May 23, 1788 South Carolina 149 73

9 June 21, 1788 New Hampshire 57 47

1 June 25, 1788 Virginia 89 79

0

1 July 26, 1788 New York 30 27

1

1 November 21, North Carolina 194 77

2 1789

1 May 29, 1790 Rhode Island 34 32

3

Contrary to the process for "alteration" set out in Article 13 of the Articles, Congress submitted
the proposal to the states and set the terms for representation.
On September 17, 1787, the Constitution was completed, followed by a speech given by
Benjamin Franklin, who urged unanimity, although the Convention decided that only nine states
were needed to ratify. The Convention submitted the Constitution to the Congress of the
Confederation, where it received approval according to Article 13 of the Articles of
Confederation.[10]
Once the Congress of the Confederation received word of New Hampshire's ratification, it set a
timetable for the start of operations under the new Constitution, and on March 4, 1789, the
government began operations.
Historical influences
Several ideas in the Constitution were new, and a large number were drawn from the literature of
Republicanism in the United States, the experiences of the 13 states, and the British experience
with mixed government. The most important influence from the European continent was from
Montesquieu, who emphasized the need to have balanced forces pushing against each other to
prevent tyranny. (This in itself reflects the influence of Polybius's 2nd century BC treatise on the
checks and balances of the constitution of the Roman Republic.) British political philosopher
John Locke was a major influence, and the due process clause of the Constitution was partly
based on common law stretching back to Magna Carta (1215).[10]
Influences on the Bill of Rights
The United States Bill of Rights consists of the ten amendments added to the Constitution in
1791, as supporters of the constitution had promised critics during the debates of 1788.[15] The
English Bill of Rights (1689) was an inspiration for the American Bill of Rights. Both require
jury trials, contain a right to keep and bear arms, prohibit excessive bail and forbid "cruel and
unusual punishments." Many liberties protected by state constitutions and the Virginia
Declaration of Rights were incorporated into the Bill of Rights.
Articles of the Constitution
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Constitution of the United States of America
The Constitution consists of a preamble, seven original articles, twenty-seven amendments, and a
paragraph certifying its enactment by the constitutional convention.
Preamble: Statement of purpose
Main article: Preamble to the United States Constitution
See also: wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Preamble

—
The phrase "We the People" indicates that the government of the United States "is, emphatically
and truly, a government of the people," rather than a league of the states.[16]
Article One: Legislative power
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Main article: Article One of the United States Constitution
See also: wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Article I
Article One describes the Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government. The United
States Congress is a bicameral body consisting of two co-equal houses: the House of
Representatives to represent the people, and the Senate to represent the States.
The article establishes the manner of election and the qualifications of members of each body.
Representatives must be at least 25 years old, be a citizen of the United States for seven years,
and live in the state they represent. Senators must be at least 30 years old, be a citizen for nine
years, and live in the state they represent.
Article I, Section 1, reads, "All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of
the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." This provision
gives Congress more than simply the responsibility to establish the rules governing its
proceedings and for the punishment of its members; it places the power of the government
primarily in Congress.
Article I Section 8 enumerates the legislative powers. The powers listed and all other powers are
made the exclusive responsibility of the legislative branch:
The Congress shall have power... To make all laws which shall be necessary and
proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers
vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any
department or officer thereof.
Article I Section 9 provides a list of eight specific limits on congressional power and Article I
Section 10 limits the rights of the states.
The United States Supreme Court has interpreted the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and
Proper Clause in Article One to allow Congress to enact legislation that is neither expressly
listed in the enumerated power nor expressly denied in the limitations on Congress. In
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the United States Supreme Court fell back on the strict
construction of the necessary and proper clause to read that Congress had "[t]he foregoing
powers and all other powers..."
Article Two: Executive power
Main article: Article Two of the United States Constitution
See also: wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Article II
Section analysis
Section 1 creates the presidency. The section states that the executive power is vested in a
President. The presidential term is four years and the Vice President serves the identical term.
This section originally set the method of electing the President and Vice President, but this
method has been superseded by the Twelfth Amendment.
• Qualifications. The President must be a natural born citizen of the United States, at least
35 years old and a resident of the United States for at least 14 years. An obsolete part of
this clause provides that instead of being a natural born citizen, a person may be a citizen
at the time of the adoption of the Constitution. The reason for this clause was to extend
eligibility to Citizens of the United States at the time of the adoption of the Constitution,
regardless of their place of birth, who were born under the allegiance of a foreign
sovereign before the founding of the United States. Without this clause, no one would
 have been eligible to be president until thirty-five years after the founding of the United
States.
• Succession. Section 1 specifies that the Vice President succeeds to the presidency if the
President is removed, unable to discharge the powers and duties of office, dies while in
office, or resigns. The original text ("the same shall devolve") left it unclear whether this
succession was intended to be on an acting basis (merely taking on the powers of the
office) or permanent (assuming the Presidency itself). After the death of William Henry
Harrison, John Tyler set the precedent that the succession was permanent; this practice
was followed when later presidents died in office. Today the 25th Amendment states that
the Vice President becomes President upon the death or disability of the President.
• Pay. The President receives "Compensation" for being the president, and this
compensation may not be increased or decreased during the president's term in office.
The president may not receive other compensation from either the United States or any of
the individual states.
• Oath of office. The final clause creates the presidential oath to preserve, protect, and
defend the Constitution.
Section 2 grants substantive powers to the president:
• The president is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, and of the state militias
when these are called into federal service.
• The president may require opinions of the principal officers of the federal government.
• The president may grant reprieves and pardons, except in cases of impeachment (i.e., the
president cannot pardon himself or herself to escape impeachment by Congress).
Section 2 grants and limits the president's appointment powers:
• The president may make treaties, with the advice and consent of the Senate, provided
two-thirds of the Senators who are present agree.
• With the advice and consent of the Senate, the President may appoint ambassadors, other
public ministers and consuls, judges of the supreme Court, and all other officers of the
United States whose appointments are not otherwise described in the Constitution.
• Congress may give the power to appoint lower officers to the President alone, to the
courts, or to the heads of departments.
• The president may make any of these appointments during a congressional recess. Such a
"recess appointment" expires at the end of the next session of Congress.
Section 3 opens by describing the president's relations with Congress:
• The president reports on the state of the union.
• The president may convene either house, or both houses, of Congress.
• When the two houses of Congress cannot agree on the time of adjournment, the president
may adjourn them to some future date.
Section 3 adds:
• The president receives ambassadors.
• The president sees that the laws are faithfully executed.
• The president commissions all the offices of the federal government.
Section 4 provides for removal of the president and other federal officers. The president is
removed on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and
misdemeanors.
Article Three: Judicial power
Main article: Article Three of the United States Constitution
See also: wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Article III
Article Three describes the court system (the judicial branch), including the Supreme Court. The
article requires that there be one court called the Supreme Court; Congress, at its discretion, can
create lower courts, whose judgments and orders are reviewable by the Supreme Court. Article
Three also creates the right to trial by jury in all criminal cases, defines the crime of treason, and
charges Congress with providing for a punishment for it. This Article also sets the kinds of cases
that may be heard by the federal judiciary, which cases the Supreme Court may hear first (called
original jurisdiction), and that all other cases heard by the Supreme Court are by appeal under
such regulations as the Congress shall make.
Article Four: States' powers and limits
Main article: Article Four of the United States Constitution
See also: wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Article IV
Article Four describes the relationship between the states and the federal government and
amongst the states. For instance, it requires states to give "full faith and credit" to the public acts,
records, and court proceedings of the other states. Congress is permitted to regulate the manner
in which proof of such acts, records, or proceedings may be admitted. The "privileges and
immunities" clause prohibits state governments from discriminating against citizens of other
states in favor of resident citizens (e.g., having tougher penalties for residents of Ohio convicted
of crimes within Michigan). It also establishes extradition between the states, as well as laying
down a legal basis for freedom of movement and travel amongst the states. Today, this provision
is sometimes taken for granted, especially by citizens who live near state borders; but in the days
of the Articles of Confederation, crossing state lines was often a much more arduous and costly
process. Article Four also provides for the creation and admission of new states. The Territorial
Clause gives Congress the power to make rules for disposing of federal property and governing
non-state territories of the United States. Finally, the fourth section of Article Four requires the
United States to guarantee to each state a republican form of government, and to protect the
states from invasion and violence.
Article Five: Amendments
Main article: Article Five of the United States Constitution
See also: wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Article V
An amendment may be ratified in three ways:
• The new amendment may be approved by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, then
sent to the states for approval.
• Two-thirds of the state legislatures may apply to Congress for a constitutional convention
to consider amendments, which are then sent to the states for approval.
• Congress may require ratification by special convention. The convention method has
been used only once, to approve the 21st Amendment (repealing prohibition, 1933).
Regardless of the method of proposing an amendment, final ratification requires approval by
three-fourths of the states.
Today Article Five places only one limit on the amending power: no amendment may deprive a
state of equal representation in the Senate without that state's consent. The original Article V
included other limits on the amending power regarding slavery and taxation; however, these
limits expired in 1808.
Article Six: Federal power
Main article: Article Six of the United States Constitution
See also: wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Article VI
Article Six establishes the Constitution, and the laws and treaties of the United States made
according to it, to be the supreme law of the land, and that "the judges in every state shall be
bound thereby, any thing in the laws or constitutions of any state notwithstanding." It also
validates national debt created under the Articles of Confederation and requires that all federal
and state legislators, officers, and judges take oaths or affirmations to support the Constitution.
This means that the states' constitutions and laws should not conflict with the laws of the federal
constitution and that in case of a conflict, state judges are legally bound to honor the federal laws
and constitution over those of any state.
Article Six also states "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or
public Trust under the United States."
Article Seven: Ratification
Main article: Article Seven of the United States Constitution
See also: wikisource:Constitution of the United States of America#Article VII
Article Seven sets forth the requirements for ratification of the Constitution. The Constitution
would not take effect until at least nine states had ratified the Constitution in state conventions
specially convened for that purpose, and it would only apply to those states that ratified it.[7] (See
above Drafting and ratification requirements.)
Judicial review
See also: Judicial review in the United States
The way the Constitution is understood is influenced by court decisions, especially those of the
Supreme Court. These decisions are referred to as precedents. In the 1803 case Marbury v.
Madison, the Supreme Court established the doctrine of judicial review. Judicial review is the
power of the Court to examine federal legislation, executive agency rules and state laws, to
decide their constitutionality, and to strike them down if found unconstitutional. Judicial review
includes the power of the Court to explain the meaning of the Constitution as it applies to
particular cases. Over the years, Court decisions on issues ranging from governmental regulation
of radio and television to the rights of the accused in criminal cases have changed the way many
constitutional clauses are interpreted, without amendment to the actual text of the Constitution.
Legislation passed to implement the Constitution, or to adapt those implementations to changing
conditions, broadens and, in subtle ways, changes the meanings given to the words of the
Constitution. Up to a point, the rules and regulations of the many federal executive agencies have
a similar effect. If an action of Congress or the agencies is challenged, however, it is the court
system that ultimately decides whether these actions are permissible under the Constitution.
Amendments
The framers of the Constitution were aware that changes would be necessary if the Constitution
was to endure as the nation grew. However, they were also conscious that such change should
not be easy, lest it permit ill-conceived and hastily passed amendments. On the other hand, they
also wanted to ensure that a rigid requirement of unanimity would not block action desired by the
vast majority of the population. Their solution was a two-step process for proposing and ratifying
new amendments.[17]
Amending the Constitution is a two-part process: amendments must be proposed then ratified.
Amendments can be proposed one of two ways. To date, all amendments, whether ratified or not,
have been proposed by a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress. Over 10,000 constitutional
amendments have been introduced in Congress since 1789; during the last several decades,
between 100 and 200 have been offered in a typical congressional year. Most of these ideas
never leave Congressional committee, and far fewer get proposed by the Congress for
ratification.
Alternatively, if two-thirds of the state legislatures demand one, Congress must call for a
constitutional convention, which would have the power to propose amendments. As no such
convention has been called, it is unclear how one would work in practice. In two instances—
reapportionment in the 1960s and a balanced federal budget during the 1970s and 1980s—
attempts to use this process have come extremely close to triggering a constitutional convention.
The apportionment debate of the 1960s fell only one state short of the required number of states
Regardless of how the amendment is proposed, it must also be ratified by three-fourths of states.
Congress determines whether the state legislatures or special state conventions ratify the
amendment. The 21st Amendment is the only one that employed state conventions for
ratification.
There are currently only a few proposals for amendments which have entered mainstream
political debate. These include the Federal Marriage Amendment, the Balanced Budget
Amendment, and the Flag Desecration Amendment. All three proposals are supported primarily
by conservatives, but failed during periods of Republican control of Congress to achieve the
supermajorities necessary for submission to the states. As such, none of these is likely to be
proposed under the current Congress, which is controlled by the more liberal Democratic Party.
Unlike amendments to most constitutions, amendments to the United States Constitution are
appended to the body of the text without altering or removing what already exists, although
nothing prevents a future amendment from doing so.
Successful amendments
Main article: List of amendments to the United States Constitution
The Constitution has twenty-seven amendments. The first ten, collectively known as the Bill of
Rights, were ratified simultaneously by 1791. The following seventeen were ratified separately
over the next two centuries.
The Bill of Rights (Amendments 1 to 10)
Main article: United States Bill of Rights
United States Bill of Rights currently housed in the National Archives.
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
United States Bill of Rights
It is commonly understood that originally the Bill of Rights was not intended to apply to the
states; however, there is no such limit in the text itself, except where an amendment refers
specifically to the federal government. One example is the First Amendment, which says only
that "Congress shall make no law...", and under which some states in the early years of the nation
officially established a religion. A rule of inapplicability to the states remained until 1868, when
the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, which stated, in part, that:

The Supreme Court has interpreted this clause to extend most, but not all, parts of the Bill of
Rights to the states. Nevertheless, the balance of state and federal power has remained a battle in
the Supreme Court.
The amendments that became the Bill of Rights were the last ten of the twelve amendments
proposed in 1789. The second of the twelve proposed amendments, regarding the compensation
of members of Congress, remained unratified until 1992, when the legislatures of enough states
finally approved it; as a result, after pending for two centuries, it became the Twenty-seventh
Amendment.
The first of the twelve, which is still technically pending before the state legislatures for
ratification, pertains to the apportionment of the United States House of Representatives after
each decennial census. The most recent state whose lawmakers are known to have ratified this
proposal is Kentucky in 1792, during that commonwealth's first month of statehood.
• First Amendment: addresses the rights of freedom of religion (prohibiting Congress from
establishing a religion and protecting the right to free exercise of religion), freedom of
speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of petition.
• Second Amendment: guarantees the right of individuals to possess firearms. The most
recent Supreme Court decision interpreting the Second Amendment is District of
Columbia v. Heller.
• Third Amendment: prohibits the government from using private homes as quarters for
soldiers during peacetime without the consent of the owners. The only existing case law
regarding this amendment is a lower court decision in the case of Engblom v. Carey.[18]
 • Fourth Amendment: guards against searches, arrests, and seizures of property without a
specific warrant or a "probable cause" to believe a crime has been committed. Some
rights to privacy have been inferred from this amendment and others by the Supreme
Court.
• Fifth Amendment: forbids trial for a major crime except after indictment by a grand jury;
prohibits double jeopardy (repeated trials), except in certain very limited circumstances;
forbids punishment without due process of law; and provides that an accused person may
not be compelled to testify against himself (this is also known as "Taking the Fifth" or
"Pleading the Fifth"). This is regarded as the "rights of the accused" amendment,
otherwise known as the Miranda rights after the Supreme Court case. It also prohibits
government from taking private property for public use without "just compensation," the
basis of eminent domain in the United States.
• Sixth Amendment: guarantees a speedy public trial for criminal offenses. It requires trial
by a jury, guarantees the right to legal counsel for the accused, and guarantees that the
accused may require witnesses to attend the trial and testify in the presence of the
accused. It also guarantees the accused a right to know the charges against him. The Sixth
Amendment has several court cases associated with it, including Powell v. Alabama,
United States v. Wong Kim Ark, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Crawford v. Washington. In
1966, the Supreme Court ruled that the fifth amendment prohibition on forced self-
incrimination and the sixth amendment clause on right to counsel were to be made known
to all persons placed under arrest, and these clauses have become known as the Miranda
rights.
• Seventh Amendment: assures trial by jury in civil cases.
• Eighth Amendment: forbids excessive bail or fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.
• Ninth Amendment: declares that the listing of individual rights in the Constitution and
Bill of Rights is not meant to be comprehensive; and that the other rights not specifically
mentioned are retained by the people.
• Tenth Amendment: reserves to the states respectively, or to the people, any powers the
Constitution did not delegate to the United States, nor prohibit the states from exercising.
Subsequent amendments (11 to 27)
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Additional amendments to the United States Constitution
Amendments to the Constitution after the Bill of Rights cover many subjects. The majority of the
seventeen later amendments stem from continued efforts to expand individual civil or political
liberties, while a few are concerned with modifying the basic governmental structure drafted in
Philadelphia in 1787. Although the United States Constitution has been amended 27 times, only
26 of the amendments are currently in effect because the twenty-first amendment supersedes the
eighteenth.
• Eleventh Amendment (1795): Clarifies judicial power over foreign nationals, and limits
ability of citizens to sue states in federal courts and under federal law. (Full text)
• Twelfth Amendment (1804): Changes the method of presidential elections so that
members of the Electoral College cast separate ballots for president and vice president.
(Full text)
 • Thirteenth Amendment (1865): Abolishes slavery and authorizes Congress to enforce
abolition. (Full text)
• Fourteenth Amendment (1868): Defines a set of guarantees for United States citizenship;
prohibits states from abridging citizens' privileges or immunities and rights to due
process and the equal protection of the law; repeals the Three-fifths compromise;
prohibits repudiation of the federal debt caused by the Civil War. (Full text)
• Fifteenth Amendment (1870): Prohibits the federal government and the states from using
a citizen's race, color, or previous status as a slave as a qualification for voting. (Full text)
• Sixteenth Amendment (1913): Authorizes unapportioned federal taxes on income. (Full
text)
• Seventeenth Amendment (1913): Converts state election of senators to popular election.
(Full text)
• Eighteenth Amendment (1919): Prohibited the manufacturing, importing, and exporting
of alcoholic beverages (see Prohibition in the United States). Repealed by the Twenty-
First Amendment. (Full text)
• Nineteenth Amendment (1920): Prohibits the federal government and the states from
forbidding any citizen to vote due to their sex. (Full text)
• Twentieth Amendment (1933): Changes details of congressional and presidential terms
and of presidential succession. (Full text)
• Twenty-first Amendment (1933): Repeals Eighteenth Amendment. Permits states to
prohibit the importation of alcoholic beverages. (Full text)
• Twenty-second Amendment (1951): Limits president to two terms. (Full text)
• Twenty-third Amendment (1961): Grants presidential electors to the District of
Columbia. (Full text)
• Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964): Prohibits the federal government and the states from
requiring the payment of a tax as a qualification for voting for federal officials. (Full text)
• Twenty-fifth Amendment (1967): Changes details of presidential succession, provides for
temporary removal of president, and provides for replacement of the vice president. (Full
text)
• Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971): Prohibits the federal government and the states from
forbidding any citizen of age 18 or greater to vote on account of their age. (Full text)
• Twenty-seventh Amendment (1992): Limits congressional pay raises. (Full text)
Unratified amendments
See also: Proposals for Amendments to the United States Constitution and Unsuccessful
attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution
Of the thirty-three amendments that have been proposed by Congress, six have failed ratification
by the required three-quarters of the state legislatures, and four of those six are still technically
pending before state lawmakers (see Coleman v. Miller). Starting with the 18th Amendment,
each proposed amendment has included a deadline for passage, except the 19th Amendment
(women's voting) and the Child Labor Amendment, proposed in 1924 and still unratified. The
following are the unratified proposals:
 • The Congressional Apportionment Amendment, proposed by the 1st Congress on
September 25, 1789, defined a formula for how many members there would be in the
United States House of Representatives after each decennial census. Ratified by eleven
states, the last being Kentucky in June 1792 during Kentucky's initial month of statehood,
this amendment contains no expiration date for ratification. In principle it may yet be
ratified, though as written it became moot when the population of the United States
reached ten million.
• The so-called missing thirteenth amendment, or "Titles of Nobility Amendment"
(TONA), proposed by the 11th Congress on May 1, 1810, would have ended the
citizenship of any American accepting "any Title of Nobility or Honour" from any
foreign power. Some maintain that the amendment was ratified by the legislatures of
enough states, and that a conspiracy has suppressed it, but this has been thoroughly
debunked.[19] Known to have been ratified by lawmakers in twelve states, the last in 1812,
this amendment contains no expiration date for ratification. It may yet be ratified.
• The Corwin Amendment, proposed by the 36th Congress on March 2, 1861, would have
forbidden any attempt to subsequently amend the Constitution to empower the federal
government to "abolish or interfere" with the "domestic institutions" of the states (a
delicate way of referring to slavery). It was ratified by only Ohio and Maryland
lawmakers before the outbreak of the Civil War. Illinois lawmakers—sitting as a state
constitutional convention at the time—likewise approved it, but that action is of
questionable validity. The proposed amendment contains no expiration date for
ratification and may yet be ratified. However, adoption of the 13th, 14th, and 15th
Amendments after the Civil War likely means that the amendment would be ineffective if
adopted.
• A child labor amendment proposed by the 68th Congress on June 2, 1924. It provides,
"The Congress shall have power to limit, regulate, and prohibit the labor of persons under
eighteen years of age." This amendment is highly unlikely to be ratified, since subsequent
federal child labor laws have uniformly been upheld as a valid exercise of Congress's
powers under the Commerce Clause.
Expired deadlines. This category is separate from the other four unratified constitutional
amendments. These two were not ratified by their deadlines and they have expired.
• The Equal Rights Amendment, or ERA, which reads in pertinent part "Equality of rights
under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on
account of sex." Proposed by the 92nd Congress on March 22, 1972, it was ratified by the
legislatures of 35 states, and expired on either March 22, 1979 or on June 30, 1982,
depending upon one's point of view of a controversial three-year extension of the
ratification deadline, which was passed by the 95th Congress in 1978. Of the 35 states
ratifying it, four later rescinded their ratifications before the extended ratification period
which began on March 23, 1979 and a fifth, while not going so far as to rescind its earlier
ratification, adopted a resolution stipulating that its approval would not extend beyond
March 22, 1979. There continues to be disagreement over whether such reversals are
valid; no court has ruled on the question, including the Supreme Court. A precedent
against the validity of rescission was first established during the ratification process of
the 14th Amendment when Ohio and New Jersey rescinded their earlier approvals, but
yet were counted as ratifying states when the 14th Amendment was ultimately
proclaimed part of the Constitution in 1868.
 • The District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment was proposed by the 95th Congress
on August 22, 1978. Had this amendment been ratified, it would have granted to
Washington, D.C. two Senators and at least one member of the House of Representatives
as though the District of Columbia were a state. Ratified by the legislatures of only 16
states (out of the required 38), the proposed amendment expired on August 22, 1985.
Criticism of the Constitution
Several academics have criticized the Constitution for specific shortcomings. University of
Virginia professor Larry Sabato wants an amendment to organize primaries to prevent a
"frontloaded calendar" long before the election to prevent a "race by states to the front of the
primary pack" which subverts the national interest, in his view.[20] Sabato details more objections
in his book A More Perfect Constitution.[20] Richard Labunski agrees with Sabato about the
"incoherent organization of primaries and caucuses,"[21] and faults the Constitution for enabling
presidents to continue unpopular wars,[21] for requiring presidents to be "natural born citizens",[21]
for lifetime tenure for Supreme Court judges which "produces senior judges representing the
views of past generations better than views of the current day."[21] He writes "If the 26 least
populated states voted as a bloc, they would control the U.S. Senate with a total of just under
17% of the country’s population."[21]
University of Texas law professor Sanford Levinson also wonders whether it makes sense to give
"Wyoming the same number of votes as California, which has roughly seventy times the
population".[22] He thinks this imbalance causes a "steady redistribution of resources from large
states to small states."[22] Levinson is critical of the electoral college since it allows the possibility
of electing presidents who do not win the majority of votes.[22] Three times in American history,
presidents have been elected by the electoral college despite failing to win the popular vote: 1876
(Rutherford B. Hayes), 1888 (Benjamin Harrison) and 2000 (George W. Bush).[23][24][25][26] The
current Constitution does not give the people a quick way to remove incompetent or ill
presidents, in his view.[26] Others have criticized the politically driven redistricting process
popularly known as gerrymandering.[27]
Vanderbilt professor Dana D. Nelson believes the presidency has become too powerful. In her
book, Bad for Democracy, she argues that all citizens seem to do, politically, is vote for president
every four years, and not much else. Nelson criticizes excessive worship of the president or
presidentialism and sees the office as essentially undemocratic.[28]
Yale professor Robert A. Dahl sees a problem with an American tendency towards worship of
the Constitution itself, and sees aspects of American governance which are "unusual and
potentially undemocratic: the federal system, the bicameral legislature, judicial review,
presidentialism, and the electoral college system."[29] Levinson and Labunski and others have
called for a Second Constitutional Convention,[30] although professors like Dahl believe there is
no real hope this might ever happen.[29]
Translations
The Constitution has been translated into many world languages:
• Arabic[31][32]
• Chinese[33][34]
• Dutch[35]
• French[36]
 • German[37][38]
• Hebrew[39]
• Hungarian[40]
• Italian[41]
• Japanese[42]
• Korean[43]
• Portuguese[44]
• Russian[45]
• Slovak[46]
• Spanish[47][48][49][50][51]
• Swedish
• Thai
• Ukrainian[52]
Professor James Chen has annotated the Spanish translation prepared by the U.S. State
Department.[53] His notes focus on the problems and nuances of this translation.
Nguyen Canh Binh has translated the Constitution into Vietnamese.[54]
The Bill of Rights has been translated into Hawaiian.[55]
There is a partial translation of the Bill of Rights into Esperanto.[56]
The Federal Judicial Center has links to other materials about the United States government and
judicial system.[49] The site has materials in 16 languages besides English, such as Indonesian,
Malay, Serb, and Vietnamese.
Original pages of the Constitution

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

Commemoration on U.S. postage

Issue of 1937, 150th Anniversary of signing

In 1937 the U.S. Post Office released a commemorative postage stamp celebrating the 150th
anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. The engraving on this issue is after an 1856
painting by Junius Brutus Stearns of Washington and Delegates signing the Constitution at the
Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia.
See also
General
• Congressional power of enforcement
• Constitution Day (United States)
• Federalist Papers
• History of democracy
• List of constitutions of the United States
• List of proposed amendments to the United States Constitution
• List of sources of law in the United States
• National Constitution Center
Related documents
• Magna Carta (1215)
• Mayflower Compact (1620)
• Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)
• Massachusetts Body of Liberties (1641)
• English Bill of Rights (1689)
• United States Declaration of Independence (1776)
• Articles of Confederation (1777)
• Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1779)
• United States Bill of Rights (1791)
Notes
1. ^ a b WikiSource. "WikiSource: Constitution of the United States of America".
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_States_of_America. Retrieved 2007-
12-16.
2. ^ Library of Congress. "Primary Documents in American History: The United States
Constitution". http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Constitution.html. Retrieved 2007-12-
16.
3. ^ Constitution still holds surprisesBrewton Standard - Sep 17, 2008
4. ^ Casey (1974)
5. ^ Christian G. Fritz, American Sovereigns: The People and America's Constitutional Tradition
Before the Civil War (Cambridge University Press, 2008) at p. 131 [ISBN 978-0-521-88188-3
(noting that "Madison, along with other Americans clearly understood" the Articles of
Confederation "to be the first federal Constitution.")
6. ^ a b NARA. "National Archives Article on the Constitutional Convention".
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters.html. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
7. ^ a b National Archives and Records Administration. "National Archives Article on the
Constitution". http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html. Retrieved
2008-09-01.
8. ^ WikiSource. "Articles of Confederation".
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Articles_of_Confederation. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
9. ^ a b NARA. "National Archives Article on James Madison".
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters.html. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
10.^ a b c NARA. "National Archives Article on the Entire Constitutional Convention".
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters.html. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
11.^ NARA. "National Archives Article on William Paterson".
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters.html. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
12.^ NARA. "National Archives Article on Roger Sherman".
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters.html. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
13.^ Section 2 of Article I provides in part: "Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned
among the several states . . . by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those
bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other
persons."
14.^ See South Carolina Declaration of Causes in Seccession (December 24, 1860), reprinted in
Richard Hofstadter, Great Issues in American History. Volume II, Vintage Books (1958), p.76-7;
Abraham Lincoln, Message to Congress (July 4, 1861) reprinted in Hofstadter, supra.
15.^ NARA. "National Archives Article on the Bill of Rights".
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters.html. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
16.^ McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316, 404-5 (1816).
17.^ Lutz, Donald (1994). Toward a theory of constitutional amendment.
18.^ "Findlaw.com". Caselaw.lp.findlaw.com.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment03/. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
19.^ "The Missing Thirteenth Amendment". Thirdamendment.com.
http://www.thirdamendment.com/missing.html. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
20.^ a b By Larry J. Sabato (September 26, 2007). "An amendment is needed to fix the primary
mess". USA Today.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070926/opcomwednesday.art.htm. Retrieved
2009-09-20.
21.^ a b c d e Richard Labunski interviewed by Policy Today's Dan Schwartz (18 October 2007).
"Time for a Second Constitutional Convention?". Policy Today.
http://www.policytoday.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=258&Itemid=148.
Retrieved 2009-09-20.
22.^ a b c Reviewed by Robert Justin Lipkin (January, 2007). "OUR UNDEMOCRATIC
CONSTITUTION: WHERE THE CONSTITUTION GOES WRONG (AND HOW WE THE
PEOPLE CAN CORRECT IT)". Widener University School of Law.
http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/levinson0107.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
23.^ "Popular vote, Electoral College vote at odds?". USA Today. November 2008.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/benedetto/230.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
24.^ Levinson, Sanford (2006). Our undemocratic constitution: where the constitution goes wrong
(and how we the people can correct it). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-
19-530751-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZHQ8z2MAZToC&pg=PT30&lpg=PT30&dq=
%22our+undemocratic+constitution%22+critic%3F+review
%3F&source=bl&ots=MPCtI3lq3b&sig=iGh7cA-
guR2_ES22AcxKnPM23Fk&hl=en&ei=39e2SrHHD9LU8Abvi4zNDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result
&ct=result&resnum=8#v=onepage&q=&f=false.
25.^ Randall Kennedy (May 12, 2008). "Books: Randall Kennedy". Newsweek.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/135401. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
26.^ a b Nora Krug (reviewer) (March 23, 2008). "Radical Re-readings -- OUR UNDEMOCRATIC
CONSTITUTION Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (And How We the People Can Correct It)
By Sanford Levinson". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2008/03/20/AR2008032003015.html. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
27.^ Macedo, Stephen (August 11, 2008). "Toward a more democratic Congress? Our imperfect
democratic constitution: the critics examined". Boston University Law Review (Boston University
Law Review) 89: 609–628. http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache%3AQ33mcnJC4pkJ
%3Awww.bu.edu%2Flaw%2Fcentral%2Fjd%2Forganizations%2Fjournals%2Fbulr
%2Fvolume89n2%2Fdocuments%2FMACEDO.pdf+%22our+undemocratic+constitution
%22+critic%3F+review%3F&hl=en&gl=us&pli=1. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
28.^ interview by David Schimke (September-October 2008). "Presidential Power to the People --
Author Dana D. Nelson on why democracy demands that the next president be taken down a
notch". Utne Reader. http://www.utne.com/2008-09-01/Politics/Presidential-Power-to-the-
People.aspx. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
29.^ a b Robert A. Dahl (Feb 11, 2002). "How Democratic Is the American Constitution?". Yale
University Press. http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=0300092180. Retrieved
2009-09-20.
30.^ "Professor Stanford Levinson Proposes a New Constitutional Convention". Colorado Law --
Univ. of Colorado at Boulder. January 25, 2008.
http://lawweb.colorado.edu/news/showArticle.jsp?id=434. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
31.^ "Arabic-Constitution-2" (PDF). http://constitutioncenter.org/Images/constitution
%20translations/Arabic-Constitution-2.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
32.^ "‫ دستور الوليات المتحدة الميركية‬- ‫"دستور الوليات المتحدة الميركية‬. America.gov.
http://www.america.gov/ar/publications/books/the-constitution.html. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
33.^ "Simplified Chinese translation" (PDF). http://constitutioncenter.org/Images/constitution
%20translations/SCH-Constitution.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
34.^ "Constitution of the United States (1787)". Usinfo.org.
http://usinfo.org/zhtw/PUBS/BasicReadings/6.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
35.^ http://www.theusa.nl/bestuursamenleving/grondwetamerika-nl.htm
36.^ "French translation of the U.S. Constitution" (PDF).
http://constitutioncenter.org/Images/constitution%20translations/French%20Constitution%208-
19.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
37.^ "German Constitution 8-19" (PDF). http://constitutioncenter.org/Images/constitution
%20translations/German%20Constitution%208-19.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
38.^ "Verfassung" (PDF). http://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/gov/gov-constitutiond.pdf. Retrieved 2010-
03-17.
 39.^ "U.S. Constitution". Israel.usembassy.gov.
http://israel.usembassy.gov/publish/constitution/p1.html. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
40.^ "Hungarian translation of the U.S. Constitution". Hungarian.hungary.usembassy.gov.
http://hungarian.hungary.usembassy.gov/constitution_in_hungarian.html. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
41.^ "Italian translation of the U.S. Constitution" (PDF).
http://constitutioncenter.org/Images/constitution%20translations/Italian%20Constitution%208-
19.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
42.^ "Japanese translation of the U.S. Constitution". Aboutusa.japan.usembassy.gov. 2009-03-13.
http://aboutusa.japan.usembassy.gov/j/jusaj-constitution.html. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
43.^ "Korean translation of the U.S. Constitution" (PDF).
http://constitutioncenter.org/Images/constitution%20translations/KOR-Constitution.pdf.
Retrieved 2010-03-17.
44.^ "Portuguese translation of the U.S. Constitution" (PDF).
http://constitutioncenter.org/Images/constitution%20translations/Port%20Constitution%208-
19.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
45.^ "Russian translation of the U.S. Constitution" (PDF).
http://constitutioncenter.org/Images/constitution%20translations/RU-Constitution.pdf. Retrieved
2010-03-17.
46.^ http://slovakia.usembassy.gov/20090618_us_constitution_slovak.pdf
47.^ "Spanish translation of the U.S. Constitution". Cato.org.
http://www.cato.org/pubs/constitution/constitution_en.html. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
48.^ http://www.constitution.org/cons/usa_span.htm
49.^ a b "International Judicial Relations — Translated Material". Fjc.gov.
http://www.fjc.gov/ijr/home.nsf/page/transl_mat#United. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
50.^ "United States of America: Constitución de 1787 en español". Pdba.georgetown.edu.
http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/USA/eeuu1787.html. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
51.^ "Constitución de los Estados Unidos de América — The U.S. Constitution Online".
USConstitution.net. 2010-01-24. http://www.usconstitution.net/const_sp.html. Retrieved 2010-
03-17.
52.^ http://kyiv.usembassy.gov/files/american_constitution_ukr.pdf
53.^ "SSRN-The Constitution of the United States in Spanish: A Service for the American People
(La Constitucion de los Estados Unidos en Espanol: Un Servicio para el Pueblo Americano) by
James Ming Chen". Papers.ssrn.com. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?
abstract_id=925271#. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
54.^ "Alphabooks". Alphabooks.vn. http://alphabooks.vn/web/SearchResult.aspx?
cmd=search&key=Hi%E1%BA%BFn%20ph%C3%A1p%20M%E1%BB
%B9%20%C4%91%C6%B0%E1%BB%A3c%20l%C3%A0m%20ra%20nh%C6%B0%20th
%E1%BA%BF%20n%C3%A0o. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
55.^ http://www.jpfo.org/pdf/bor-Hawaiian.pdf
56.^ Česky. "Usona Konstitucio — Vikipedio" (in (Esperanto)). Eo.wikipedia.org.
http://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usona_Konstitucio. Retrieved 2009-05-04.

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Abridgment the same year.
• Story, Joseph, A Familiar Exposition of the Constitution of the United States, Boston,
Marsh, Capen, Lyon & Webb, 1840.
• VanBurkleo, Sandra F.; Hall, Kermit L.; and Kaczorowski, Robert J., eds.
Constitutionalism and American Culture: Writing the New Constitutional History.
University Press of Kansas, 2002. 464 pp.
• Mazzone, Jason (2005). "The Creation of a Constitutional Culture". Tulsa Law Review 40
(4): 671. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=831927.
 • Smith, Jean Edward; Levine, Herbert M. (1988). Civil Liberties & Civil Rights Debated.
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
• Smith, Jean Edward (1989). The Constitution and American Foreign Policy. St. Paul,
MN: West Publishing Company.
• White, G. Edward. The Constitution and the New Deal. Harvard University Press, 2000.
385 pp.
• Wiecek, William M., "The Witch at the Christening: Slavery and the Constitution's
Origins," Leonard W. Levy and Dennis J. Mahoney, eds., The Framing and Ratification
of the Constitution (Macmillan, 1987), 178-84.
• Willoughby, Westel Woodbury, Principles of the constitutional law of the United States
New York, Baker, Voorhis & Company, 1912.
Further reading
• Klos, Stanley L. (2004). President Who? Forgotten Founders. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
Evisum, Inc.. p. 261. ISBN 0-9752627-5-0.
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Freedom
• National Constitution Center's "Interactive Constitution"
Official U.S. government sources
• Constitution and related resources: Library of Congress
• Analysis and Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States: Annotated
constitution, with descriptions of important cases (official publication of U.S. Senate)
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United States Constitution

Text Preamble and Articles · Bill of Rights · Subsequent Amendments

Articles Preamble · One · Two · Three · Four · Five · Six · Seven

Bill of
1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10
Rights
Amendments
11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21 · 22 · 23 · 24 · 25 · 26 · 27
Ratified · Proposed · Unsuccessful · Conventions to propose · State ratifying
conventions

History · Articles of Confederation · Mount Vernon Conference · Annapolis

Convention · Philadelphia Convention (Virginia Plan · New Jersey Plan ·
Formation
Connecticut Compromise · Three-Fifths Compromise · Signers) · Federalist
Papers (list) · Massachusetts Compromise

Appointments · Appropriations · Case or Controversy · Citizenship ·

Commerce · Compact · Confrontation · Contract · Copyright and Patent ·
Due Process · Emolument · Equal Protection · Establishment · Exceptions ·
Ex post facto · Extradition · Free Exercise · Fugitive Slave · Full Faith and
Credit · General Welfare · Guarantee · Impeachment · Ineligibility · Militia ·
Clauses
Natural–born citizen · Necessary and Proper · No Religious Test ·
Origination · Postal · Presentment · Privileges and Immunities · Privileges or
Immunities · Speech or Debate · Supremacy · Suspension · Takings · Taxing
and Spending · Territorial · Title of Nobility · Treaty · Trial by Jury ·
Vesting · War Powers

Theory · Concurrent powers · Congressional enforcement · Double

jeopardy · Dormant Commerce Clause · Enumerated powers · Executive
Interpretatio
privilege · Incorporation of the Bill of Rights · Nondelegation doctrine ·
n
Preemption · Saxbe fix · Separation of church and state · Separation of
powers · Unitary executive theory
 Historical Documents of the United States

Constitution

Preamble • One • Two • Three •

Articles
Four • Five • Six • Seven

One • Two • Three

• Four • Five • Six
Bill of Rights
• Seven • Eight •
Nine • Ten

Eleven • Twelve •
Thirteen • Fourteen
• Fifteen • Sixteen
Amendment • Seventeen •
s Eighteen •
Nineteen • Twenty
Subsequent• Twenty-One •
Twenty-Two •
Twenty-Three •
Twenty-Four •
Twenty-Five •
Twenty-Six •
Twenty-seven

Clauses Appointments • Appropriations •

Case or Controversy •
Citizenship • Commerce •
Compact • Confrontation •
Contract • Copyright • Due
process • Emolument • Equal
protection • Establishment •
Exceptions • Ex post facto •
Extradition • Free Exercise •
Fugitive Slave • Full Faith and
Credit • General Welfare •
Guarantee • Impeachment •
Militia • Natural-born citizen •
Necessary and Proper • No
Religious Test • Origination •
Postal • Presentment • Privileges
and Immunities • Privileges or
Immunities • Speech or Debate •
Supremacy • Suspension •
Takings • Taxing and Spending •
 Territorial • Title of Nobility •
Treaty • Trial by Jury • Vesting •
War Powers

Signatories George
Commander-in-Washingto
Chiefn
(Virginia)

George
Reed •
Gunning
Bedford,
Delaware
Jr. • John
Dickinson •
Jacob
Broom

James
McHenry •
Daniel of
MarylandSt. Thomas
Jenifer •
Daniel
Carroll

John Blair
Virginia• James
Madison

William
Blount •
Knight
North Carolina
Dobbs •
Hugh
Williamson

John
Rutledge •
Charles
Cotesworth
South CarolinaPinckney •
Charles
Pinckney •
Pierce
Butler
 William
Few •
Georgia
Abraham
Baldwin

John
Langdon •
New Hampshire
Nicholas
Gilman

Nathaniel
MassachusettsGorham •
Rufus King

William
Samuel
ConnecticutJohnson •
Roger
Sherman

Alexander
New York
Hamilton

William
Livingston
• David
New Jersey
Brearley •
William
Paterson

Benjamin
Franklin •
Thomas
Mifflin •
Robert
Morris •
George
Clymer •
Pennsylvania
Thomas
Fitzsimons
• Jared
Ingersoll •
James
Wilson •
Gouverneu
r Morris
 History • Philadelphia
See also
Convention

[show]

Declaration of Independence

Primary
Thomas Jefferson
author

Signatories John Hancock

President of
(Massachusetts
Congress
)

Josiah Bartlett
• William
New HampshireWhipple •
Matthew
Thornton

Samuel Adams
• John Adams •
MassachusettsRobert Treat
Paine •
Elbridge Gerry

Stephen
Rhode IslandHopkins •
William Ellery

Roger Sherman
• Samuel
Huntington •
Connecticut
William
Williams •
Oliver Wolcott

William Floyd
• Philip
New YorkLivingston •
Francis Lewis •
Lewis Morris

New JerseyRichard
Stockton • John
Witherspoon •
Francis
 Hopkinson •
John Hart •
Abraham Clark

Robert Morris
• Benjamin
Rush •
Benjamin
Franklin •
PennsylvaniaGeorge Morton
• John Clymer
• James Smith •
George Taylor
• James Wilson
• George Ross

George Reed •
Caesar Rodney
Delaware
• Thomas
McKean

Samuel Chase •
William Paca •
Thomas Stone
Maryland
• Charles
Carroll of
Carrollton

George Wythe
• Richard
Henry Lee •
Thomas
Jefferson •
Benjamin
Virginia
Harrison •
Thomas
Nelson, Jr. •
Francis
Lightfoot Lee •
Carter Braxton

William
Hooper •
North Carolina
Joseph Hewes •
John Penn

South CarolinaEdward
 Rutledge •
Thomas
Heyward, Jr. •
Thomas Lynch,
Jr. • Arthur
Middleton

Button Gwinett
Georgia• Lyman Hall •
George Walton

Second Continental Congress •

See also Independence Hall • Life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness

Articles of Confederation

Signatorie NewJosiah Bartlett • John Wentworth,

s HampshireJr.

John Hancock • Samuel Adams •

MassachusettsElbridge Gerry • Francis Dana •
James Lovell • Samuel Holten

William Ellery • Henry Marchant

Rhode Island
• John Collins

Roger Sherman • Samuel

ConnecticutHuntington • Oliver Wolcott •
Titus Hosmer • Andrew Adams

James Duane • Francis Lewis •

New YorkWilliam Duer • Gouverneur
Morris

John Witherspoon • Nathaniel

New Jersey
Scudder

Robert Morris • Daniel Roberdeau

Pennsylvania• Jonathan Bayard Smith •
William Clingan • Joseph Reed

Thomas McKean • John

Delaware
Dickinson • Nicholas Van Dyke

MarylandJohn Hanson • Daniel Carroll

 Richard Henry Lee • John
VirginiaBanister • Thomas Adams • John
Harvie • Francis Lightfoot Lee

John Penn • Cornelius Harnett •

North Carolina
John Williams

Henry Laurens • William Henry

Drayton • John Mathews •
South Carolina
Richard Hutson • Thomas
Heyward, Jr.

John Walton • Edward Telfair •

Georgia
Edward Langworthy

See also Continental Congress

Continental Association

President of
Peyton Randolph
Congress

New HampshireJohn Sullivan • Nathaniel Folsom

Thomas Cushing • Samuel Adams • John Adams •

Massachusetts Bay
Robert Treat Paine

Rhode IslandStephen Hopkins • Samuel Ward

Signatorie ConnecticutEliphalet Dyer • Roger Sherman • Silas Deane

s
Isaac Low • John Alsop • John Jay • James Duane •
New YorkPhilip Livingston • William Floyd • Henry Wisner •
Simon Boerum

James Kinsey • William Livingston • Stephen Crane •

New Jersey
Richard Smith • John De Hart

Joseph Galloway • John Dickinson • Charles

PennsylvaniaHumphreys • Thomas Mifflin • Edward Biddle • John
Morton • George Ross
 United States topics

Pre-Columbian era · Colonial era (Thirteen Colonies · Colonial American

military history) · American Revolution (War) · Federalist Era War of 1812 ·
Territorial changes · Mexican–American War · American Civil War ·
Reconstruction era · American Indian Wars · Gilded Age · African-American
Timelin
eCivil Rights Movement (1896–1954) · Spanish–American War · World War I ·
Roaring Twenties · Great Depression · World War II (Home front) · Cold War ·
H
Korean War · Space Race · African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–
1968) · Feminist Movement · Vietnam War · Post-Cold War (1991–present) · War
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Demographic · Economic · Military · Postal · Technological and industrial ·

Topics
Inventions · Discoveries

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P Ideologies · Parties (Democratic Party · Republican Party · Third parties) · Scandals ·
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S

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