Creates power
It establishes a national government and gives it specific jobs.
The United States Constitution · Plain English
The rules for
the government.
The Constitution creates the federal government, divides its power, limits what government may do, and protects certain rights. That is the whole idea. Everything below explains how.
Understand it from the beginning ↓01 · The ten-second answer
What is the Constitution?
It is the highest law of the United States.
It is mostly instructions for government—not a list of everything people are allowed to do.
Government receives only the power the Constitution gives it, and government must obey the limits the Constitution places on it.
Divides power
It separates power among branches and between the nation and states.
Limits power
It places some choices beyond government’s reach and protects individual rights.
02 · The Constitution as it stands today
There are 27 amendments.
An amendment is an official change or addition to the Constitution. Once approved through the constitutional process, it has the same legal force as the original text.
Total amendments
Only 27 changes have been ratified.
Bill of Rights
The first ten were ratified together in 1791.
Later amendments
These expanded rights and changed the system.
Amendments 1–10
Back to groups ↑The Bill of Rights
1Protects freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition+
Government generally may not establish religion or block its free exercise, or abridge speech, press, peaceful assembly, and petitions to government.
2Protects the right to own and carry weapons+
The text calls this the right to “keep and bear Arms.” In modern language, that means an individual right to own and carry weapons. Government may regulate firearms, but courts continue to decide which regulations the Constitution allows.
3Stops government from forcing people to house soldiers+
Government generally cannot force people to house soldiers in their homes.
4Protects people from unreasonable government searches and seizures+
Government searches and seizures must be reasonable. Warrants require probable cause and must describe what may be searched or seized.
5Requires fair federal legal process and protects accused people+
Protects against double jeopardy and compelled self-incrimination, requires due process, and requires compensation when government takes private property.
6Guarantees basic rights in criminal trials+
Guarantees a speedy public trial, impartial jury, notice, confrontation of witnesses, compulsory process, and assistance of counsel.
7Protects jury trials in many federal civil cases+
Preserves jury trials in many federal civil cases.
8Forbids excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel punishment+
Forbids excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.
9Says people can have rights beyond those specifically listed+
Listing certain rights does not mean people have no other rights.
10Leaves undelegated powers with the states or the people+
Powers not given to the United States—and not denied to states—remain with the states or the people.
Amendments 11–12
Back to groups ↑Early repairs
11Limits when a state can be sued in federal court+
Limits when states may be sued in federal court.
12Creates separate electoral votes for president and vice president+
Revises the presidential election procedure.
Amendments 13–15
Back to groups ↑The Reconstruction Amendments
13Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude+
Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment after conviction for a crime.
14Guarantees citizenship, due process, and equal protection+
Defines national citizenship and requires states to provide due process and equal protection.
15Protects voting rights regardless of race+
Government may not deny the vote because of race, color, or previous enslavement.
Amendments 16–27
Back to groups ↑Later constitutional changes
16Allows Congress to collect a federal income tax+
Allows a federal income tax without dividing it among states by population.
17Lets voters elect U.S. senators directly+
Changed senators from selection by state legislatures to direct election.
18Bans the production and sale of alcohol+
Created Prohibition. The Twenty-first Amendment later repealed it.
19Protects voting rights regardless of sex+
Government may not deny the vote because of sex.
20Sets when presidential and congressional terms begin and end+
Sets term dates and addresses succession before a new president takes office.
21Repeals the national alcohol ban+
Repeals the Eighteenth Amendment and allows states to regulate alcohol.
22Limits how many times a person can be elected president+
Usually limits a person to two elections as president.
23Lets Washington, D.C., vote for president+
Gives the District of Columbia presidential electors.
24Stops poll taxes in federal elections+
Payment of a poll tax cannot be a condition for voting in federal elections.
25Explains presidential replacement and temporary inability+
Explains what happens when a president dies, resigns, is removed, or cannot perform the office’s duties.
26Protects the right to vote at age eighteen+
Government may not deny the vote to citizens eighteen or older because of age.
27Delays congressional pay changes until after an election+
A law changing congressional pay cannot take effect until after the next House election.
03 · The basic structure
Three branches.
No one gets all the power.
Congress
Makes federal lawsThe House and Senate must usually agree before a bill becomes law.
Checks the president through funding, oversight, confirmations, treaties, and impeachment.President
Carries out federal lawsLeads the executive branch and military and represents the country abroad.
Can veto legislation, but Congress may override a veto.Courts
Decide constitutional casesResolve actual legal disputes involving the Constitution and federal law.
Can refuse to enforce government action that conflicts with the Constitution.04 · The original document
Seven articles explain who does what.
The seven articles follow the Preamble. They create the parts of government and give each part its rules.
The Preamble
“We the People” create this government together. Its job is to build a fair system of law, keep peace at home, protect the country, support people’s well-being, and preserve freedom for today and the future.
Congress
Creates the House and Senate and gives Congress the power to make federal laws, tax, spend, borrow, regulate interstate commerce, declare war, and oversee the executive branch.
The President
Creates the presidency and explains the job: carry out federal law, lead the executive branch and military, make treaties with Senate approval, and appoint federal officials and judges.
Federal courts
Creates the Supreme Court, allows lower federal courts, and gives them real cases involving the Constitution and federal law to decide.
Rules for states working together
States must recognize one another’s official records and court decisions. It also sets rules for admitting and protecting states.
How the Constitution can be changed
Explains how amendments are proposed and approved. An ordinary law cannot rewrite the Constitution.
Which law wins when laws conflict
The Constitution comes first. Valid federal laws and treaties come next, above conflicting state laws.
How the Constitution first took effect
It would begin after conventions in nine states approved it.
How the pieces stay balanced: Congress writes the laws, the president carries them out, and courts decide how the Constitution and federal laws apply in actual cases. Each branch has ways to slow down or check the others. Power is also divided between the federal government and the states, and every part of government remains subject to the Constitution.
05 · How to read it correctly
Five rules prevent most confusion.
It mostly restricts government.
Private conduct is usually governed by other law.
Text and interpretation are different.
The Constitution supplies the words. Courts apply them to disputes.
Not every important right is written there.
Some protections come from statutes, state constitutions, or doctrine.
The Declaration is not the Constitution.
“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” is in the Declaration of Independence.
Unfair does not always mean unconstitutional.
Conduct may be harmful or illegal under another law without violating the Constitution.
The bottom line
The Constitution tells government what it may do, how it must do it, and what it must not do.
Start with the text. Identify the government actor. Find the power or limit involved. Then look at current court interpretation.