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

About The Federalist

The Federalist Papers (LOC)

The Senate & the Constitution

            Senate Related Clauses of the Constitution
            The Senate's Impeachment Role
            United States Senate Expulsion Cases
            United States Senate Censure Cases

Constitutional Qualifications for Senators

About

The Term of a Senator: When does it Begin and End? (PDF)

Seventeenth Amendment

Advice & Consent

Advice & Consent Nominations

Advice & Consent Treaties

Nominations

Treaties

Amending the Constitution

Measures Proposed to Amend the Constitution

Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation, CRS (GPO-govInfo).

About Selected Amendments

The Civil War & Reconstruction Amendments

Thirteenth Amendment

Fourteenth Amendment

Fifteenth Amendment

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
            Constitution Day 2021 | Mixed Government, Bicameralism, and the Creation of the U.S. Senate
            Constitution Day 2020 | Celebrating Constitution Day   About
            Constitution Day 2019 | Woman Suffrage Centennial: "We the Undersigned": Suffragists Petition the Senate
            Constitution Day 2018 | On Equal Footing: The Constitution, the Senate, and the Expanding United States