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Constitution of the United States


  
 
 
Constitution

The Constitution defines the fundamental law of the U.S. federal government, setting forth the three principal branches of the federal government and outlining their jurisdictions. It has become the landmark legal document of the Western world, and is the oldest written national constitution currently in effect.


Primary Documents

        Constitution
        Bill of Rights
        The Federalist

The Senate & the Constitution

 
            Senate Related Clauses of the Constitution
            The Senate's Impeachment Role
            Expulsion & Censure

    Constitutional Qualifications for Senators   About
            The Term of a Senator: When does it Begin and End? (pdf)
            Direct Election of Senators
            Seventeenth Amendment

    Advice & Consent

            Focus on the Constitution: Advice & Consent
            Nominations
            Treaties

Amending the Constitution

        Measures Proposed to Amend the Constitution (pdf)
        Proposed Amendments not ratified by the States (pdf)
            citation: Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation, CRS, 2002.
        Discussion of Article V (pdf)
            citation: Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation, CRS, 2002.
        About Selected Amendments
            The Civil War & Reconstruction Amendments (Thirteenth, Fourteenth, & Fifteenth Amendments)
            Seventeenth Amendment
            Nineteenth Amendment

Interpretation of the Constitution by the Supreme Court

        The Supreme Court is the highest tribunal of the United States for all cases and controversies arising under the Constitution. As the final arbiter of the law, the Court is charged with ensuring equal justice under law and functions as guardian and interpreter of the Constitution.
            Find a Supreme Court Case of Findlaw.

Constitution Day   About

Related Items

    Bibliographies

        Resources on the Constitution (pdf)
        Children's Books on the Constitution

    Related Web Pages

            Censure |   Elections |   Expulsion |   Judiciary |   Nominations |   Treaties