The United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence

Text, Videos, and Other Resources

TCNConst.com
PocketConst.com

A free download of our Pocket Constitution is available on Scribd.
Sold in sets of 25 copies. For details, see web site

The table below includes links to text, relevant videos, and other resources.

See also: ConText. “The Notes of Debates in ConText addresses a real need in our constitutional scholarship. There is currently no systematic, accessible commentary on the Notes that explains the details and context of each decision made at the [constitutional] convention, while also describing the subsequent (and ongoing) debates over constitutional meaning that have stemmed from those decisions. With this site, we are providing the most up-to-date analysis of the Framers’ debates by some of the country’s leading academic voices.” – From the Center for the Constitution at James Madison’s Montpelier.

James Madison, Father of the Constitution (1751-1836)
George Mason, Grandfather of the Bill of Rights (1725-1792)

George Mason wrote the first draft of The Virginia Declaration of Rights in May 1776.

There is no, “Trust us, changes are coming” clause in the Constitution. To the contrary, the Bill of Rights itself, and the First Amendment in particular, reflect a degree of skepticism towards governmental self-restraint and self-correction.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York et al. v. Sebelius, 12 CIV. 2542, 907 F.Supp.2d 310 (BMC) (EDNY) (December 5, 2012) (PDF on scribd)

Also see

• our Congressional Glossary
• The Constitution of the United States – Related Materials
  TCNCRM.com / TCNCAM.com

 
 
The Declaration of Independence: Version 1 | Version 2

Constitution of the United States

Preamble

Article 1 – The Legislative Branch

Section 1 – The Legislature

Section 2 – The House

Section 3 – The Senate

Section 4 – Elections, Meetings

Section 5 – Membership, Rules, Journals, Adjournment

Section 6 – Compensation

Section 7 – Revenue Bills, Legislative Process, Presidential Veto

Section 8 – Powers of Congress

Clause 1 – Power to tax and spend
Clause 2 – Borrowing power
Clause 3 – Commerce power
Clause 4 – Naturalization and Bankruptcies
Clause 5 – Money
Clause 6 – Counterfeiting
Clause 7 – Post Office
Clause 8 – Copyrights and Patents
Clause 9 – Courts
Clause 10 – Maritime crimes
Clause 11 – War power
Clause 12 – Army
Clause 13 – Navy
Clause 14 – Military establishment
Clause 15 – The Militia
Clause 16 – The Militia
Clause 17 – Enclave clause
Clause 18 – Necessary and Proper clause

Section 9 – Limits on Congress

Section 10 – Powers Prohibited of States


Article 2 – The Executive Branch


Section 1 – The President

Section 2 – Civilian Power over Military, Cabinet, Pardon Power, Appointments

Section 3 – State of the Union, Convening Congress

Section 4 – Disqualification


Article 3 – The Judicial Branch


Section 1 – Judicial Powers

Section 2 – Trial by Jury, Original Jurisdiction, Jury Trials

Section 3 – Treason


Article 4 – The States


Section 1 – Each State to Honor All Others

Section 2 – State Citizens, Extradition

Section 3 – New States

Section 4 – Republican Government


Article 5 – Amendment

Article 6 – Debts, Supremacy, Oaths

Article 7 – Ratification

Signatories

Amendments
Also see Amending the Constitution; Bill of Rights Card, from Two Seas Media.


The Preamble to The Bill of Rights (The Bill of Rights * includes Amendments 1 – 10, ratified 1791) * 1 – Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression * 2 – Right to Bear Arms * 3 – Quartering of Soldiers * 4 – Search and Seizure * 5 – Trial and Punishment, Compensation for Takings * 6 – Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses * 7 – Trial by Jury in Civil Cases * 8 – Cruel and Unusual Punishment * 9 – Construction of Constitution * 10 – Powers of the States and People 11 – Judicial Limits (ratified 1795) 12 – Choosing the President, Vice President (ratified 1804) 13 – Slavery Abolished (ratified 1865) 14 – Citizenship Rights (ratified 1868)

15 – Race No Bar to Vote (ratified 1870) 16 – Status of Income Tax Clarified (ratified 1913) 17 – Senators Elected by Popular Vote (ratified 1913) 18 – Liquor Abolished (ratified 1919) 19 – Women’s Suffrage (ratified 1920) 20 – Presidential, Congressional Terms (ratified 1933) 21 – Amendment 18 Repealed (ratified 1933) 22 – Presidential Term Limits (ratified 1951) 23 – Presidential Vote for District of Columbia (ratified 1961) 24 – Poll Taxes Barred (ratified 1964) 25 – Presidential Disability and Succession (ratified 1967) 26 – Voting Age Set to 18 Years (ratified 1971) 27 – Limiting Congressional Pay Increases (ratified 1992)



A free download of our Pocket Constitution is available on Scribd.
Single copies of our Pocket Constitution are available for free. For details, see web site
 
 

State Constitutions – from Jerome Hall Law Library at Indiana University

 

Related books

• Cosmic Constitutional Theory: Why Americans Are Losing Their Inalienable Right to Self-Governance, by J. Harvie Wilkinson
• An Introduction to Constitutional Law: 100 Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know, by Randy Barnett and Josh Blackman
• A Pocket Guide to the US Constitution: What Every American Needs to Know, by Andrew B. Arnold
• Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty, by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson
• Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville
• On Liberty, by John Stuart Mill
• American Constitutional Law, Volume One: Constitutional Structures: Separated Powers and Federalism, Eleventh Edition, by Louis Fisher and Katy J. Harriger
• American Constitutional Law, Volume Two: Constitutional Rights: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Eleventh Edition, by Louis Fisher and Katy J. Harriger
• Decision in Philadelphia: The Constitutional Convention of 1787, by Christopher Collier
• The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution, by Kevin R. C. Gutzman




America’s Unwritten Constitution: The Precedents and Principles We Live By	America’s Constitution: A Biography	What America Was Really Like In 1776	The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction
The Odd Clauses: Understanding the Constitution Through Ten of Its Most Curious Provisions	Living Originalism	Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788	Rehabilitating Lochner: Defending Individual Rights against Progressive Reform
The Upside-Down Constitution	The Founders’ Key: The Divine and Natural Connection Between the Declaration and the Constitution and What We Risk by Losing It	Design for Liberty: Private Property, Public Administration, and the Rule of Law	The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
The Radicalism of the American Revolution	The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787	The Essential Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers	The Constitution Made Easy: A Tea Partier’s Guide
The U.S. Constitution: A Reader	The Founding Fathers Guide to the Constitution	Original Intent: The Courts, the Constitution, & Religion	Logical Foundations of Constitutional Liberty
The Calculus of Consent	Capitalism and Freedom	The Road to Serfdom	The Anti-Federalist Papers And The Constitutional Convention Debates
The Debate on the Constitution: Federalist and Anti-Federalist Speeches, Articles, and Letters During the Struggle over Ratification 1787-1788 (Library of America)	We the People, Volume 1: Foundations	A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law	Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution
The Federalist Papers	Man, Economy, and State: With Power and Market	The Theory of Money and Credit	33 Questions About American History You’re Not Supposed to Ask
America’s Revolutionary Mind: A Moral History of the American Revolution and the Declaration That Defined It	Give Me Liberty: A History of America’s Exceptional Idea	Great Society: A New History	The Will of the People: The Revolutionary Birth of America




The Bill of Rights: With Writings That Formed Its Foundation

America’s Constitution: A Biography

Restoring the Lost Constitution: The Presumption of Liberty

Understanding the U.S. Constitution, Grades 5 – 8

 
 

More

• Constitution of the United States – Official, from The National Archives
• CRS Annotated Constitution at Cornell’s Legal Information Institute
• S. Doc. 112-9 – Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis, and Interpretation – Centennial Edition – A clause-by-clause treatise summarizing U.S. constitutional law and citing to relevant cases, from the Library of Congress
• United States Constitution – Wikipedia
• Guide to the Constitution – Heritage Foundation
• Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation, Govinfo.gov
• U.S. Constitution – Findlaw
• Michael Barone’s Guide to Government
• Teaching American History from The Ashbrook Center
• Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms (CongressionalGlossary.com)
• Let Justice Be Our Guide: Federalism and the Constitutional Convention – Gordon Lloyd
• 50 Core American Documents That Tell America’s Story
• “The Importance of State Constitutions,” by William H. Pryor Jr.
• “5 Facts about the U.S. Constitution,” by Ben Johnson, FEE
• An Introduction to Constitutional Law – ConLaw.us, Randy Barnett and Josh Blackman
• “The Antifederalists Were Eerily Prophetic,” by Gary Galles

 
 





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