1787 · The structure of federal power
The Constitution
The seven articles establish the federal government and define the relationships among its branches, states and the people.
Read the original text at the National Archives →Civic learning · Original sources first
The Constitution & Bill of Rights
What our founding documents say, how the Constitution organizes power and why later amendments matter.
Read the founding documents
1791 · Amendments 1–10
The Bill of Rights
The first ten constitutional amendments protect freedoms, specify legal safeguards and address the limits of federal power.
Read the original text at the National Archives →1776 · Founding principles
The Declaration of Independence
Explains the colonies' decision to separate from Britain and articulates principles of equality and consent of the governed.
Read the original text at the National Archives →1795–1992 · Constitutional change
Amendments 11–27
Later amendments address citizenship, slavery, equal protection, voting, elections, presidential terms and more.
Read the original text at the National Archives →A practical map of the Constitution
Article I
Congress and its enumerated legislative powers.
Article II
The presidency and executive powers.
Article III
The federal judiciary.
Article IV
Relationships among the states and the federal union.
Article V
The constitutional amendment process.
Article VI
Federal law, treaties and the Constitution's supremacy.
Article VII
Ratification of the Constitution.
The Bill of Rights: amendments 1 through 10
These summaries are reading aids, not substitutes for the text or judicial interpretation. Many protections have developed through later amendments and court decisions; whether a right applies in a particular situation requires attention to current law.
Amendment I
Religion, speech, press, peaceful assembly and petition.
Amendment II
The right to keep and bear arms.
Amendment III
Restrictions on quartering soldiers in private homes.
Amendment IV
Protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Amendment V
Grand-jury rules, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, due process and just compensation.
Amendment VI
Rights of defendants in criminal prosecutions, including counsel and a speedy, public trial.
Amendment VII
Jury trials in certain civil cases and limits on reexamining jury findings.
Amendment VIII
Limits on excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.
Amendment IX
Listing some rights does not deny other rights retained by the people.
Amendment X
Powers not delegated to the federal government or prohibited to states are reserved to states or the people.
Read the full Bill of Rights text · See the original document
Important later amendments
The Constitution has been amended 27 times in total. To understand modern rights and elections, read the later amendments alongside the original text.
- 13th — abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime following conviction.
- 14th — addresses citizenship, due process, equal protection and qualifications for some public offices.
- 15th — prohibits denial of voting rights on account of race, color or prior condition of servitude.
- 17th — establishes direct popular election of U.S. senators.
- 19th — prohibits denial of voting rights on account of sex.
- 20th — addresses the start and end of presidential and congressional terms.
- 22nd — limits election to the presidency.
- 24th — prohibits poll taxes in federal elections.
- 25th — presidential succession, vice-presidential vacancies and inability.
- 26th — protects voting rights of citizens 18 or older from age-based denial.
Other documents worth knowing
Constitutional history includes earlier plans of government, arguments over ratification and later civil-rights legislation. These are different kinds of sources: historical essays are not law, and statutes can be amended or reinterpreted over time.
1777–1789 · Early national government
Articles of Confederation
The United States' first national governing framework, replaced when the Constitution took effect.
Read the primary source →1787–1788 · Ratification arguments
The Federalist Papers
85 essays supporting ratification of the proposed Constitution; influential historical arguments, not binding legal text.
Read the primary source →1964 · Federal civil-rights statute
Civil Rights Act
Landmark legislation addressing discrimination; parts of its implementation and interpretation have developed over time.
Read the primary source →1965 · Voting-rights statute
Voting Rights Act
Landmark federal voting-rights legislation; consult current law and decisions when applying it today.
Read the primary source →Important historical context
The founding documents established principles and institutions, but rights and political participation were not equally realized at the founding. Later amendments, statutes, social movements and court decisions transformed who could exercise many rights. When teaching the original Constitution, the later amendments and the historical context matter.
National Archives — America's Founding Documents · National Archives — download original document images