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#Constitution

74 entries

People (9)

Third Vice President of the United States — and Alexander Hamilton's killer

Alexander Hamilton

Founding Father, first Secretary of the Treasury, and architect of American capitalism

Benjamin Franklin

Printer, diplomat, and scientist who helped engineer American independence

Author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the conscience of the Constitutional Convention

Father of the Constitution and fourth President of the United States

First Chief Justice of the United States and co-author of The Federalist Papers

Chief Justice who forged the Supreme Court into a coequal branch of government

The only person to sign all four of the great founding documents

Thomas Jefferson

Author of the Declaration of Independence and Third President of the United States

Places (3)

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum

The only presidential library split across two cities

Independence Hall

The Philadelphia building where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed

The city where American independence and the Constitution were forged

Eras (1)

Revolutionary Era

The 25 years that broke from Britain and built a republic, 1775–1800

Events (4)

Constitutional Convention

The 1787 Philadelphia gathering that scrapped one government and invented another

Continental Congress

The revolutionary assembly that declared independence, fought a war, and built a nation

Great Compromise

The Connecticut Plan of 1787 that created the bicameral Congress and saved the Constitutional Convention

Nullification Crisis

The 1832 standoff between South Carolina and Andrew Jackson that previewed secession

Documents (47)

Alien and Sedition Acts

The 1798 laws that tested the limits of free speech and nearly tore the young republic apart

Articles of Confederation

America's first constitution and the document that proved insufficient

Declaration of Independence

The 1776 founding document asserting American independence and natural rights

Eighteenth Amendment

The Constitutional Ban on Alcohol That Created Prohibition, 1919–1933

Eighth Amendment

The ban on cruel and unusual punishment

Eleventh Amendment

State sovereign immunity from federal lawsuits

Equal Rights Amendment

The Proposed Constitutional Amendment for Gender Equality, 1923–Present

Fifteenth Amendment

The 1870 amendment that prohibited denying the vote on the basis of race

Fifth Amendment

Due process, self-incrimination, and the rights of the accused

First Amendment

The constitutional guarantee of speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition

Fourteenth Amendment

The 1868 amendment that defined citizenship and guaranteed equal protection under the law

Fourth Amendment

The guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures

Gibbons v. Ogden

The 1824 ruling that gave Congress the power to regulate the national economy

Gideon v. Wainwright

The unanimous 1963 ruling that guaranteed the right to counsel for every criminal defendant

Marbury v. Madison

The 1803 ruling that established the Supreme Court's power to strike down laws

Mayflower Compact

The 1620 shipboard agreement that planted the seed of American self-governance

McCulloch v. Maryland

The 1819 ruling that established the doctrine of implied federal powers

Miranda v. Arizona

The 1966 ruling that gave every suspect the right to silence

Nineteenth Amendment

The Constitutional Amendment That Gave Women the Right to Vote, 1920

Ninth Amendment

The rights retained by the people

Northwest Ordinance

The 1787 law that established the framework for American territorial expansion

Seventeenth Amendment

The Amendment That Created Direct Election of U.S. Senators, 1913

Seventh Amendment

The right to a jury trial in civil cases

Sixteenth Amendment

The Amendment That Created the Federal Income Tax, 1913

Sixth Amendment

The right to a speedy, public, and fair criminal trial

Tenth Amendment

The powers reserved to the states and the people

The Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified 1791

The Child Labor Amendment

The failed amendment to let Congress regulate child labor

The Congressional Apportionment Amendment

The original "First Amendment" that was never ratified

The Corwin Amendment

The failed amendment that would have protected slavery forever

The D.C. Voting Rights Amendment

The failed amendment to give Washington full representation in Congress

The Federalist Papers

The 85 essays that explained the Constitution to a skeptical public — and defined American political thought

The Second Amendment

Twenty-seven words at the center of America's gun debate

The Titles of Nobility Amendment

The "phantom" amendment that would strip citizenship for foreign titles

Third Amendment

The near-forgotten ban on quartering soldiers in private homes

Thirteenth Amendment

The 1865 constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the United States

Twelfth Amendment

The overhaul of how the Electoral College elects a president

Twentieth Amendment

The "Lame Duck" Amendment moving up Inauguration Day

Twenty-fifth Amendment

Presidential succession and disability

Twenty-First Amendment

The Repeal of Prohibition — The Only Amendment to Undo Another, 1933

Twenty-fourth Amendment

The abolition of the poll tax in federal elections

Twenty-second Amendment

The two-term limit on the presidency

Twenty-seventh Amendment

The 203-year journey of the congressional pay amendment

Twenty-sixth Amendment

Lowering the voting age to eighteen

Twenty-third Amendment

Presidential electors for the District of Columbia

U.S. Constitution

The 1787 framework of government that has governed the United States ever since

War Powers Resolution

Congress's 1973 attempt to reclaim the power to declare war from the executive branch

Concepts (10)

Checks and Balances

The constitutional design that prevents any branch of government from becoming supreme

The constitutional guarantee that government cannot deprive citizens of life, liberty, or property without fair procedures

Electoral College

The constitutional mechanism for electing presidents — and the perpetual argument about it

Equal Protection

The Fourteenth Amendment guarantee that government must treat similarly situated people equally under the law

Executive Order

The presidential tool the Constitution never named — and no president has stopped using

The division of power between national and state governments that defines American governance

Judicial Review

The power of courts to strike down laws that violate the Constitution

Separation of Church and State

The constitutional principle Jefferson named, the courts refined, and America has been arguing about ever since

Separation of Powers

The constitutional division of government authority among three independent branches

The constitutional doctrine that shaped — and shadowed — American history

All Tags

Politics 169 Economy 147 Military 115 Presidency 113 Civil Rights 112 Reform 111 Law & Justice 99 Founding Era 95 Foreign Policy 90 Race 82 Constitution 74 Industry 71 Science & Technology 71 Cold War 62 Civil War 61 Protest 58 Westward Expansion 57 Arts & Culture 56 Revolution 55 Slavery 54 Women 51 War 49 Modern America 46 Indigenous 42 Diplomacy 41 Media & Press 38 Labor 33 Immigration 31 Supreme Court 30 Religion 29 Environment 28 Congress 28 World War II 28 Exploration 24 Disaster 22 Reconstruction 22 Abolition 21 Progressive Era 21 Finance 20 Democracy 19 Assassination 15 Education 14 Colonial America 13 Gilded Age 12 Public Health 12 Suffrage 11 World War I 8 Sports 8 Corruption 8 Prohibition 1