Text of the Constitution
The Constitution is the governing charter of the United States. Read here as text, it shows how the republic organized legislative, executive, and judicial power and how it understood union, law, and amendment.
The Constitution matters not as a symbol alone, but as actual governing language. Reading the text itself makes the structure of the republic clearer than summary ever can.
Key Elements
- The Preamble states the purposes of the constitutional order.
- Article I establishes Congress.
- Article II establishes the presidency.
- Article III establishes the judiciary.
- Later articles address federalism, amendment, and ratification.
Preamble
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
Article I vests all legislative powers herein granted in a Congress of the United States, composed of a Senate and House of Representatives. It defines representation, elections, qualifications, legislative procedure, congressional powers, and limits on Congress and the states.
Article II
Article II vests executive power in a President of the United States. It outlines the presidency, elections, qualifications, duties, command authority, treaty and appointment roles, and standards for removal from office.
Article III
Article III vests judicial power in one Supreme Court and such inferior courts as Congress may establish. It defines the scope of judicial power, the role of federal courts, and the standard of treason.
Article IV
Article IV governs the relations among the states and between the states and the national government. It addresses full faith and credit, privileges and immunities, new states, territories, and the guarantee of republican government.
Article V
Article V provides the amendment process, allowing the Constitution to be formally changed while making amendment difficult enough to preserve stability and broad consent.
Article VI
Article VI addresses debts, the supremacy of the Constitution and federal law, and the oath required of public officers. It is central to understanding the supremacy of national law within the constitutional order.
Article VII
Article VII sets out the ratification process by which the Constitution would take effect among the states ratifying it.
Questions Worth Answering
Why read the constitutional text itself instead of only summaries?
Because summaries help, but the actual governing language makes the structure, limits, and distribution of power far clearer and more concrete.
