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CD_158733089X
By Tobias A. Dorsey
What you hold in your hands includes America's fundamental legal document—the Constitution of the United States.
Every day, in Washington and across the country, people draft bills, make policies, and take actions with the Constitution 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.
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.
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 the Constitution mention political parties or national parks or innocent until proven guilty.
The entire Constitution is here—to be read, and pondered, and read again. The way it’s been done 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.
Page 5 and Page 13Each page is 3.25 inches wide x 6.5 inches tall.
Page 33 and Page 34
Preview
Table of Contents
Legislative Process Flowchart
Tips for Contacting Your Members of Congress
Introduction, by Tobias A. Dorsey, author of Legislative Drafter's Deskbook
Constitution-Related Excerpts (TCNCAM.com)
The Declaration of Independence
The Constitution of the United States
The Bill of Rights
Amendments XI - XXVII
Significant Dates
Index
Gettysburg Address
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
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- 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
Also see 
The Constitution: Understanding America's Founding Document
We the People: The Story of Our Constitution
Shh! We're Writing the Constitution
The U.S. Constitution: A Reader
I Know My Rights: A Children's Guide to the Bill of Rights and Individual Liberty
We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States
A Pocket Guide to the US Constitution: What Every American Needs to Know
The Smallest Minority: Independent Thinking in the Age of Mob Politics
The Politically Incorrect Guide To The Constitution
American Constitutional Law: Volume One, Constitutional Structures: Separated Powers and Federalism
American Constitutional Law: Volume Two, Constitutional Rights: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Our Lost Constitution: The Willful Subversion of America's Founding Document
The Bill of Rights: With Writings That Formed Its Foundation
America's Constitution: A Biography
Restoring the Lost Constitution: The Presumption of Liberty
Understanding the U.S. Constitution, Grades 5 - 8
The Odd Clauses: Understanding the Constitution Through Ten of Its Most Curious Provisions
Living Originalism
Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788
Rehabilitating Lochner: Defending Individual Rights against Progressive Reform
The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
The Radicalism of the American Revolution
The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787
The Essential Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers
The Debate on the Constitution: Federalist and Anti-Federalist Speeches, Articles, and Letters During the Struggle over Ratification 1787-1788 (Library of America)
We the People, Volume 1: Foundations
A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law
Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution
- On the web, member directories are here: House, Senate.
- Capitol Switchboard - 202-224-3121
- See our list of the Congressional leadership.
- See our Congressional Directory.
- The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (1774 - Present) is here. You can also usethe search form below:
Citizen's Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials
