Pocket Constitution
The Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and Amendments to the Constitution
The Constitution at your fingertips
Introduction by Tobias A. Dorsey

The Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Amendments to the Constitution, Significant Dates, and Index, all in a handy pocket-sized booklet.

Our Pocket Constitution is available for purchase in multiples of 30 copies. Single copies are FREE (see below). Includes free Bill of Rights card from Two Seas Media.

A paid order for ONE (1) Pocket Constitution includes 30 copies. 

We can also customize our Pocket Constitution for your organization with a minimum order of 20,000 copies. 

Buy from TheCapitol.Net
$20 for 30 copies

Get ebook from TheCapitol.Net  FREE
Buy, download and read on your computer using Adobe Reader (PDF)
This ebook is sold with a Limited License. 2.8 mb

 

2012, 56 pages $20 for 30 copies Softcover pamphlet 3.25 x 6.5 inches,  1.2 ounces each Weight (per 30): 3 pounds  ISBN 10: 1587331780  ISBN 13: 9781587331787 FREE from TheCapiotol.Net (free preview below) EISBN 13: 9781587332272

Formats Pocket Pamphlet 30 for $20 Single Copies  Free Scribd             Free Ebook             Free

Free Print Copy

• Free copy with every book order and every audio CD order from our web site.

• Free copy available for attendees at our courses.

• Single copies of this Pocket Constitution are available at no charge by sending a self-addressed stamped business-size (#10) envelope (SASE) with first class postage for two (2) ounces to: TheCapitol.Net, Pocket Constitution, PO Box 25706, Alexandria, VA 22313-5706. Repeated requests and requests with insufficient postage will be returned or destroyed. Only 1 copy per request.

• Want to send a letter from you with a Pocket Constitution and Bill of Rights card to your Representative in Congress or other elected official to help remind them of their oath of office? Include a 1-page note or letter (no profanity or threats - see this page for writing tips) in the "SASE" - no more than 1-page - addressed to the elected official with your name as the return address, and we will send that along. Place your 1-page note or letter inside a stamped business-size (#10) envelope, addressed to the elected official (using your mailing address for the return address on the envelope), with first class postage for two (2) ounces and send that to: TheCapitol.Net, Pocket Constitution, PO Box 25706, Alexandria, VA 22313-5706. Requests with insufficient postage will be returned or destroyed. Only 1 copy per request.

• Social Studies and Government Teachers - Civics Education: You can combine up to 35 of your students' separate hand addresssed business-size (#10) envelope SASEs (each SASE must have first class postage for two (2) ounces attached, and each SASE must be hand addressed to each student, preferably by each student - this is a civics project, correct?) into one large envelope that you mail to us for free copies for your students. Enclose a note with your name, name of your school, course taught, grade, and school address. Requests with no school info or insufficient postage will be returned or destroyed.  

• No phone, fax, or email requests will be accepted for complimentary copies.

• Available while supply lasts.

A paid order for ONE (1) Pocket Constitution includes 30 copies.

           

Also see

• Constitution postings on HobnobBlog for text, videos, and other resources
  
  
• Bill of Rights Card from Two Seas Media
  
  
• Pocket edition of Common Sense by Thomas Paine
  
• 10 Rules for Dealing with Police
  

More Information
Introduction	Table of Contents	The Authors	Related Resources	Congressional Directories

By Tobias A. Dorsey

What you hold in your hands includes America's fundamental legal document--the Constitution of the United States. We celebrate it each year on Constitution Day, September 17, the anniversary of the date in 1787 on which it was signed. In a sense, though, we celebrate it every day of the year.

On any given day a lawmaker, judge, or executive officer--at the federal level or in the states--may be taking an oath to support it. Every single day, in Washington and across the country, people draft bills, make policies, and take actions with the Constitution very much in mind. Whatever it is they want to do, they need to know if it is legal and legitimate--that is, if it is constitutional. Does the government have the power to do it? Even so, does it violate separation of powers or state sovereignty or individual rights?

Those questions must always be asked, and the search for answers must always begin here, in the constitutional text. It doesn't hold all the answers, of course--nor can it. We have shelf upon shelf of legal opinions and still do not have all the answers.

The text is not short enough to memorize, but it's plenty short enough to read--and reading it is exactly what you should do. Not just once, either. Read it, set it aside, come back to it, read it again. Each time, you might learn something new.

It doesn't take long before you come across something that will furrow your brow. The first thing you may notice is the archaic colonial style, with all those capital letters and British spellings. If you're a drafter by trade or just a stickler by nature, you might notice technical and stylistic oddities, like the difference in the use of periods between "SECTION. 1." in the main body of the Constitution and "SECTION 1." in the Amendments.

And then, a mere 170 words or so in, just as you're feeling virtuous and gaining momentum, you stumble across a phrase like "three fifths of all other Persons"--the census measure of a slave--and it brings you to a stop. There it is, even now; but you might read it again to be sure.

Funny thing about the Constitution: we never take anything out of it. We strike words from federal statutes all the time, but we change the Constitution in only one way, by adding new words at the end. So in 1868 we tacked on the Fourteenth Amendment and that "three fifths" rule was abolished. But the words are still there on the books, as immortal as they are obsolete.

We do this overriding-by-tacking-on more than you might think--27 times in all. We added 10 amendments in 1791 and we've added another new amendment every 12 years or so, on average. The last change was ratified in 1992, so we seem to be in a bit of a dry spell, but we're not anywhere near the longest gap between amendments. It was 61 years between ratification of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804 and the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. There are six other amendments that have been submitted to the states but never ratified. And many other proposed amendments are introduced in every Congress. (Drafting a proposed constitutional amendment may seem like pretty lofty work, until you've done it a dozen times or more.)

Some parts of the Constitution we know almost by heart. We expect to find mention of the Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court--and indeed we do find them. Freedom of speech and the right to a jury trial--yes, there they are. And yet many things we take for granted are missing. The Constitution tells us about the President's State of the Union message, for example, but it doesn't tell us how many Justices are on the Supreme Court.

There are many other things that we might expect to find in the Constitution but never do. We can search in vain for a clause that captures a principle like "checks and balances" or "separation of church and state" or "one man, one vote". Nowhere does it mention political parties or national parks or innocent until proven guilty. And yet what we do find are a great many other words that we had no idea were there. Emoluments? Letters of Marque and Reprisal? Corruption of Blood?

Some parts of the Constitution may seem rather odd. There are clauses here that weren't covered by Schoolhouse Rock or civics class or law school. And yet many of these clauses are enormously important, even today. You may not be familiar with the Recommendations Clause or the Appointments Clause, but they routinely arise at the White House and on Capitol Hill. And there are many other clauses to consider, many of which you may not have learned--yet. The Supreme Court has held many acts of Congress unconstitutional over the years, and has relied on many different clauses: the Presentment Clause, the Export Clause, the Compensation Clause, the Bill of Attainder Clause, the Elections Clause, and the Copyright Clause, to name just a few.

All of those clauses are here--to be read, and pondered, and read again. To be skimmed or quoted, but also to be carefully parsed, word by word, perhaps even comma by comma. The way it's always been done, ever since 1789, day by day, Congress by Congress, generation by generation.

Isn't it time you joined in?

Tobias A. Dorsey is the author of the Legislative Drafter's Deskbook.

Preview
(Table of Contents below)

Table of Contents

Introduction, by Tobias A. Dorsey, author of Legislative Drafter's Deskbook

The Declaration of Independence

The Constitution of the United States

The Bill of Rights

Amendments XI - XXVII

Significant Dates

Index

Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States.
Painting by Howard Chandler Christy

"While many had a hand in this process, it was New York lawyer and future American politician and diplomat Gouverneur Morris (1752-1816) who actually took on the task of penning the Constitution, putting into prose the resolutions reached by the convention. Morris had the considerable help of the records that James Madison (1751-1836) of Virginia had kept as he managed the debates among the delegates and suggested compromises. In that capacity and in that he designed the system of checks and balances among the legislative (Congress), the executive (the president of the United States), and the judicial (Supreme Court), Madison had considerable influence on the document's language, quite rightfully earning him the designation 'father of the constitution.'"

From "Who wrote the U.S. Constitution?" on Answers.com

Pocket Constitution mug by TheCapitolNet

Live Courses

• Congress in a Nutshell: Understanding Congress

• Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process

• Congressional Operations Briefing - Capitol Hill Workshop

• Advanced Legislative Procedure
  

Audio CD  and Print Materials     Online download with MP3 audio and materials in PDF	Capitol Learning Audio Courses Capitol Learning Audio Courses are a convenient way to learn about the legislative process, federal budgeting, media relations, business etiquette, and much more.  Each course is between 1/2 hour and 2 hours long, and includes the course materials.  C-SPAN 1 Viewer's Guide: Making Sense of Watching the House of Representatives: Legislative Procedure, Congressional Jargon, and Floor Plan C-SPAN 2 Viewer's Guide: Making Sense of Watching the Senate: What's Behind the Classical Music What Your Member of Congress Can Do for You: Gallery Passes, Flags, Presidential Greetings, and Help with Federal Agencies Congressional Pay and Perks Our Capitol Learning Audio Courses can be customized with your logo in quantities of 250 to 10,000 copies.  Contact our Client Liaison for details.
Also see Constitution postings on HobnobBlog for text, videos, and other resources. Pocket edition of Common Sense, by Thomas Paine

TheCapitol.Net is a non-partisan firm, and the opinions of its faculty, authors, clients and the owners and operators of its vendors are their own and do not represent those of TheCapitol.Net. 

  URLs:  www.TheCapitol.Net/Publications/PocketConstitution.html
TCNPocket.com
TCNConst.com
PocketConst.com

Book Preview



See larger image

Also see

Citizen's Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials

Congressional Directory

Our Clients

Congressional Offices

Federal Agencies

Military

NGOs and Nonprofits

Diplomatic Corps

Fortune 500

Law Firms

Lobbying Firms

Labor Unions

Associations