"The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America."
The concepts, principles and development of constitutions, including the Bill of Rights, separation of powers, federalism, and the relationship between national and state governments.
Origins of Constitutions: The historical development of the concept of written rules to govern a society and the early attempts at creating constitutional texts.
Types of Constitutions: The different types of constitutions, such as written and unwritten, flexible and rigid, federal and unitary.
Constitution-making: The process of drafting and adopting a constitution, including public participation, constitutional conventions, and referendums.
Constitutional Amendments: The procedures and challenges of making changes to an already-adopted constitution.
Principles of Constitutionalism: The fundamental principles that form the basis of constitutional law, such as the rule of law, separation of powers, and checks and balances.
Rights and Freedoms: The constitutional protections of individual and collective rights and freedoms, including civil, political, economic, and social rights.
Judiciary and Judicial Review: The role of courts and the legal system in enforcing and interpreting constitutional laws, and the power of constitutional review.
Federalism: The division of powers between central and regional governments in a federal system, and the constitutional arrangements for sharing responsibilities and resolving conflicts.
International and Comparative Constitutions: The study and comparison of different constitutional systems around the world, and the influence of international law and organizations on domestic constitutional law.
Challenges to Constitutionalism: The potential threats and challenges to constitutional democracies, such as authoritarianism, populism, and terrorism, and the constitutional responses to these challenges.
Written Constitution: A document that sets out the fundamental law of a nation, usually codified in a single text.
Unwritten Constitution: A collection of laws, conventions, and traditions that establish the framework of government of a nation.
Rigid Constitution: A constitution that is difficult to change, usually requiring a formal amendment process.
Flexible Constitution: A constitution that can be easily changed, usually through the normal legislative process.
Federal Constitution: A constitution that divides powers between a central government and regional governments.
Unitary Constitution: A constitution that centralizes power in a single government, with no regional governments.
Presidential Constitution: A constitution that creates a system of government in which a president serves as both head of state and head of government.
Parliamentary Constitution: A constitution that creates a system of government in which a parliament serves as the primary legislative body and the head of government is separate from the head of state.
Monarchical Constitution: A constitution that establishes a monarchy, with a monarch serving as the head of state.
Republican Constitution: A constitution that establishes a republic, with an elected head of state.
Authoritarian Constitution: A constitution that limits individual freedoms and grants extensive power to the government, often in the form of a dictator.
Democratic Constitution: A constitution that establishes a system of government in which power rests with the people, often through a system of representative democracy.
"The Constitution's first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress (Article I); the executive, consisting of the president and subordinate officers (Article II); and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts (Article III)."
"Originally comprising seven articles..."
"Article IV, Article V, and Article VI embody concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments, the states in relationship to the federal government, and the shared process of constitutional amendment."
"The drafting of the Constitution, often referred to as its framing, was completed at the Constitutional Convention, which assembled at Independence Hall in Philadelphia between May 25 and September 17, 1787."
"Delegates to the convention were chosen by the state legislatures of 12 of the 13 original states; Rhode Island refused to send delegates."
"The convention's initial mandate was limited to amending the Articles of Confederation, which had proven highly ineffective in meeting the young nation's needs."
"The first proposal discussed, introduced by delegates from Virginia, called for a bicameral (two-house) Congress that was to be elected on a proportional basis based on state population, an elected chief executive, and an appointed judicial branch."
"An alternative to the Virginia Plan, known as the New Jersey Plan, also called for an elected executive but retained the legislative structure created by the Articles, a unicameral Congress where all states had one vote."
"The issue of proportional representation was of similar concern to less populous states, which under the Articles had the same power as larger states. To satisfy interests in the South, particularly in Georgia and South Carolina, the delegates agreed to protect the slave trade...Finally, the delegates adopted the Connecticut Compromise, which proposed a Congress with proportional representation in the lower house and equal representation in the upper house (the Senate) giving each state two senators."
"Since the Constitution was ratified in 1789, it has been amended 27 times."
"The first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, offer specific protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers of government within the U.S. states."
"The majority of the 17 later amendments expand individual civil rights protections."
"Amendments to the United States Constitution, unlike ones made to many constitutions worldwide, are appended to the document."
"The original U.S. Constitution was handwritten on five pages of parchment by Jacob Shallus."
"It is interpreted, supplemented, and implemented by a large body of federal constitutional law and has influenced the constitutions of other nations."