Understanding the Constitution

Preamble

Why the Constitution exists.

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Article I — Legislative Branch

Creates Congress (House + Senate), defines its powers and limits.

Establishes a bicameral Congress. The House is based on population; the Senate gives each state two senators. Lists Congress's enumerated powers (taxing, spending, declaring war, regulating interstate commerce) and lists things neither Congress nor states may do.

Article II — Executive Branch

Creates the Presidency.

The President is Commander in Chief, executes the laws, makes treaties (with Senate consent), and nominates judges and officers. Sets the four-year term, the Electoral College, and impeachment.

Article III — Judicial Branch

Creates the Supreme Court and federal courts.

Federal judicial power is vested in one Supreme Court and any lower courts Congress creates. Judges serve during "good behaviour." Defines treason narrowly to prevent political abuse.

Article IV — The States

How states relate to each other and to the federal government.

Full Faith and Credit Clause, Privileges and Immunities, extradition, admission of new states, and a federal guarantee of a republican form of government for every state.

Article V — Amendments

How the Constitution can be changed.

Proposed by 2/3 of both houses of Congress (or a convention called by 2/3 of state legislatures) and ratified by 3/4 of the states.

Article VI — Supremacy

The Constitution is the supreme law of the land.

Federal law and treaties override conflicting state law. All officials must swear to support the Constitution. No religious test for federal office.

Article VII — Ratification

9 of 13 states needed to ratify.

Sets the threshold by which the Constitution would take effect.

1st Amendment

Religion, speech, press, assembly, petition.

Congress shall make no law establishing religion or prohibiting its free exercise, or abridging freedom of speech, the press, peaceable assembly, or the right to petition the government.

2nd Amendment

Right to keep and bear arms.

A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

3rd Amendment

No quartering of soldiers in private homes during peacetime.

Reaction to British practice of forcing colonists to house troops. Largely uncontested today.

4th Amendment

Protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Warrants require probable cause and must describe what is to be searched or seized.

5th Amendment

Due process, no self-incrimination, no double jeopardy, eminent domain.

Grand jury indictment for capital crimes, protection from being tried twice for the same offense, the right to remain silent, due process of law, and just compensation if government takes property.

6th Amendment

Rights of the accused in criminal trials.

Speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, right to confront witnesses, to compel witnesses, and to have counsel.

7th Amendment

Right to a jury in civil cases.

Preserves jury trial in civil disputes above a threshold value.

8th Amendment

No excessive bail or cruel and unusual punishment.

Limits punishments and pretrial detention costs.

9th Amendment

Unenumerated rights are retained by the people.

Listing some rights in the Constitution does not mean people don't have others.

10th Amendment

Powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states or the people.

The structural backbone of federalism.

11th Amendment (1795)

State sovereign immunity from suits by citizens of other states.

Limits federal court jurisdiction over states.

12th Amendment (1804)

Separate Electoral College ballots for President and Vice President.

Fixed the tied 1800 election problem.

13th Amendment (1865)

Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude.

Except as punishment for a crime.

14th Amendment (1868)

Citizenship, due process, and equal protection.

Applies most Bill of Rights protections to the states.

15th Amendment (1870)

Right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous servitude.

First federal voting-rights guarantee.

16th Amendment (1913)

Federal income tax.

Congress may lay and collect taxes on income.

17th Amendment (1913)

Direct election of U.S. Senators.

Previously chosen by state legislatures.

18th Amendment (1919)

Prohibition of alcohol.

Repealed in 1933 by the 21st.

19th Amendment (1920)

Women's right to vote.

Sex cannot be used to deny voting rights.

20th Amendment (1933)

"Lame duck" amendment — moved inauguration to January 20.

Shortened the gap between election and taking office.

21st Amendment (1933)

Repealed Prohibition.

Only amendment to repeal another.

22nd Amendment (1951)

Two-term limit for the President.

Codified the Washington precedent FDR broke.

23rd Amendment (1961)

Electoral votes for Washington, D.C.

Gave D.C. residents a voice in presidential elections.

24th Amendment (1964)

Abolished the poll tax in federal elections.

25th Amendment (1967)

Presidential succession and disability.

Procedures for filling a vice-presidential vacancy and transferring power when the President is unable to serve.

26th Amendment (1971)

Voting age lowered to 18.

Driven by Vietnam-era "old enough to fight, old enough to vote."

27th Amendment (1992)

Congressional pay raises take effect only after the next election.

Originally proposed in 1789.

Established that the Supreme Court can strike down acts of Congress that conflict with the Constitution. The foundation of judicial review.

Upheld the constitutionality of the national bank under the Necessary and Proper Clause; states cannot tax the federal government. Confirmed broad implied federal powers.

Defined Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce broadly. The legal basis for most modern federal economic regulation.

Ruled that people of African descent were not citizens and Congress could not ban slavery in the territories. Widely regarded as one of the worst decisions in court history; overturned by the 13th and 14th Amendments.

Upheld 'separate but equal' racial segregation. Overruled in 1954.

Created the 'clear and present danger' test for limiting speech. Later narrowed by Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969).

Unanimously held that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. Overturned Plessy.

Extended the 6th Amendment right to an attorney to anyone facing serious criminal charges in state courts. Created the public-defender system.

Required police to inform suspects of their rights to remain silent and to an attorney — the 'Miranda warning.'

Students do not 'shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.'

Government cannot impose 'prior restraint' on the press absent extraordinary justification (the 'Pentagon Papers' case).

Executive privilege is not absolute. Forced President Nixon to release the Watergate tapes; he resigned 16 days later.

Held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, unconnected with militia service, for traditionally lawful purposes.

The 14th Amendment requires states to license and recognize same-sex marriages.

Held that firearm regulations must be consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation.