United States Constitution

E337

foundational legal document supreme law written constitution

The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States that established the national framework of government, separated powers among branches, and protects fundamental rights through its articles and amendments.

Aliases (18)

Constitution of the United States ×44
U.S. Constitution ×18
United States Constitution of 1787 ×2
Article I ×1
Article I of the United States Constitution ×1
Article II of the United States Constitution ×1
Article III of the United States Constitution ×1
Constitution of the United States, Article V amendments ×1
Establishment Clause ×1
Framing of the United States Constitution ×1
Preamble ×1
Takings Clause ×1
United States Constitution (as applicable) ×1
United States Constitution (with some distinctions by status) ×1
United States Constitution (within U.S. jurisdiction) ×1
United States Constitution Article II ×1
United States constitutional framework ×1
the United States Constitution itself ×1

Statements (78)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	foundational legal document → supreme law → written constitution →
adoptedBy	Constitutional Convention of 1787 →
allocates	powers between federal government and states →
amendmentCount	27 →
amendmentProcessDescribedIn	Article V →
articleCount	7 →
authorizes	judicial review (interpreted by courts) →
bindingOn	all federal officials → all states →
cityOfOriginal	Washington, D.C. →
contains	Commerce Clause → Establishment Clause → Free Exercise Clause → Full Faith and Credit Clause → Necessary and Proper Clause → Privileges and Immunities Clause → Supremacy Clause → Takings Clause →
country	United States of America →
creates	executive branch → judicial branch → legislative branch →
defines	powers of Congress → powers of the President → powers of the federal judiciary →
draftedIn	1787 →
establishes	checks and balances system → federal government of the United States → separation of powers →
firstTenAmendmentsCalled	Bill of Rights →
guarantees	republican form of government to the states →
hasPart	Article I → Article II → Article III → Article IV → Article V → Article VI → Article VII → Bill of Rights → Preamble → amendments →
hasPreamble	Yes →
influenced	many national constitutions worldwide →
influencedBy	English Bill of Rights → Enlightenment political philosophy → Magna Carta →
isInterpretedBy	Supreme Court of the United States →
jurisdiction	United States federal government →
language	English →
legalStatus	supreme law of the United States →
limits	government power through enumerated powers →
locationOfOriginal	National Archives Building →
originallyPermitted	slavery (before later amendments) →
preambleBeginsWith	We the People of the United States →
protects	birthright citizenship → equal protection of the laws → freedom of religion → freedom of speech → freedom of the press → protection against cruel and unusual punishment → protection against self-incrimination → protection against unreasonable searches and seizures → right to a fair trial → right to due process of law → right to keep and bear arms → right to peaceable assembly → right to petition the government → voting rights →
ratifiedOn	1788-06-21 →
requires	oath to support the Constitution →
signedAt	Pennsylvania State House → Philadelphia →
signedOn	1787-09-17 →
slaveryAbolishedBy	Thirteenth Amendment →
superseded	Articles of Confederation →
tookEffectOn	1789-03-04 →

Referenced by (420)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Court of Appeals of Puerto Rico ("Constitution of the United States") → Fourth federal judicial circuit → Government of Maine ("Constitution of the United States") → Government of Maryland → Indiana Court of Appeals → Massachusetts Superior Court → Municipal Court of Puerto Rico ("Constitution of the United States") → New York State Judiciary → Sixth Judicial District of Iowa → Superior Court of the Virgin Islands → United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit → United States District Court for the District of Delaware → United States District Court for the District of Idaho → United States District Court for the District of Maryland → United States District Court for the District of Nevada → United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire → United States District Court for the District of Oregon → United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island → United States District Court for the District of South Carolina → United States District Court for the District of Vermont → United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas → United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky → United States District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina → United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee → United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas → United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida → United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania → United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee → United States District Court for the Northern District of California → United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida → United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia → United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi ("Constitution of the United States") → United States District Court for the Northern District of New York → United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma → United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas → United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida → United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi → United States District Court for the Southern District of New York courthouse in White Plains → United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio → United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas → United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia → United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky → United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana → United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan → United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina → United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia → United States Supreme Court cases of the Stone Court →	appliesLaw
Article I of the United States Constitution → Article I, Section 3 of the United States Constitution → Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution → Article II → Article II of the United States Constitution → Article III of the United States Constitution → Article III of the United States Constitution → Article III, Section 1 of the United States Constitution → Article III, Section 2 of the United States Constitution → Article III, Section 3 of the United States Constitution → Article IV of the United States Constitution → Article IV of the United States Constitution → Article IV, Section 1 of the United States Constitution → Article IV, Section 2 of the United States Constitution → Article V → Article VI of the United States Constitution → Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution ("Constitution of the United States") → Article VII of the United States Constitution → Bill of Rights → Due Process Clause → Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution → Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution → First Amendment to the United States Constitution → Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Fugitive Slave Clause → Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Second Amendment to the United States Constitution → Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution → Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Supremacy Clause → Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Third Amendment to the United States Constitution → Thirteenth Amendment → Three-Fifths Compromise → Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution → Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution →	partOf
2024 United States presidential election → Georgia's 3rd congressional district ("U.S. Constitution") → Maine's 1st congressional district → New York congressional delegation → State of Oregon in Multnomah County criminal cases → Texas congressional districts → Texas's 10th congressional district → Texas's 15th congressional district → Texas's 22nd congressional district → Texas's 23rd congressional district → Texas's 2nd congressional district → Texas's 3rd congressional district → Texas's 7th congressional district → Texas's 9th congressional district → United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit → United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit → United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit → United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit → United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit → United States District Court for the Central District of California → United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois → United States District Court for the District of Minnesota → United States District Court for the Eastern District of California → United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan → United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina → United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania → United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia → United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa → United States District Court for the Southern District of New York → United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas → United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri → United States District Court for the Western District of New York → United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee → VA-11 → Virginia congressional delegation → Virginia's 11th congressional district →	governingLaw
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency → Alaska Department of Law → Belton Police Department → Government of Guam ("Constitution of the United States") → Government of Iowa ("Constitution of the United States") → Government of North Carolina ("Constitution of the United States") → Government of Puerto Rico ("Constitution of the United States") → Judiciary of Guam ("Constitution of the United States") → Maine State Police → Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia → New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services → Newton Police Department → Office of the Vice President of the United States ("Constitution of the United States") → Puerto Rico Police Bureau ("Constitution of the United States") → Stafford County Sheriff’s Office →	follows
2010 United States census → Army National Guard → Decennial United States Census → National Counterterrorism Strategy of the United States ("U.S. Constitution") → President pro tempore of the United States Senate → Reserve Components of the United States Armed Forces → Secretary of the Treasury ("United States Constitution Article II") → Texas congressional delegation → Union → United States Armed Forces → United States National Guard → United States Secretary of State → United States Senate leadership → United States federal budget ("Constitution of the United States") → United States presidential election →	legalBasis
Cedar Falls City Council ("Constitution of the United States") → City of Fairfax City Council → Constitution of Puerto Rico → Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands ("Constitution of the United States") → Illinois state court system ("Constitution of the United States") → Indiana Constitution → Judiciary of the District of Columbia → New York Election Law → North Carolina Constitution → North Carolina General Assembly → Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals → Sacramento County Board of Supervisors → Selma City Council → Ulster County Legislature → United States District Court for the District of Columbia →	subjectTo
Act of Congress → Law of the District of Columbia → Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district ("U.S. Constitution") → Treaties of the United States → U.S. House of Representatives elections in New York → U.S. citizens → U.S. federal agencies → United States Senate elections → United States congressional districts in California → United States residents ("United States Constitution (within U.S. jurisdiction)") →	governedBy
American Enlightenment → Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu → Colonial America → John Locke → Magna Carta → Montesquieu → Petition of Right 1628 → The Spirit of the Laws → Virginia Plan →	influenced
24th Amendment to the United States Constitution → Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the United States Constitution → Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution → Commerce Clause → New States and Federal Property → Oaths Clause → Petition Clause → Section 1 of the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Taxing and Spending Clause →	locatedInDocument
College Park City Council ("Constitution of the United States") → Duluth City Council ("Constitution of the United States") → Houston City Council ("Constitution of the United States") → Iowa City Council ("Constitution of the United States") → Los Angeles City Charter ("Constitution of the United States") → Massachusetts state legislature ("Constitution of the United States") → President of the United States as Commander in Chief of the militia of the several states when called into federal service → Sacramento City Council ("Constitution of the United States") → Yountville Town Council ("Constitution of the United States") →	subordinateTo
Anti-Federalist Papers → Brutus (pseudonymous Anti-Federalist writer) ("U.S. Constitution") → Cato (pseudonymous Anti-Federalist writer) ("U.S. Constitution") → Federalist No. 40 → Restrictions on the Authority of the Several States ("U.S. Constitution") → The Court and the Constitution → The Federalist No. 33 ("U.S. Constitution") → The Federalist No. 39 →	mainSubject
Article VI of the United States Constitution ("the United States Constitution itself") → Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution ("Constitution of the United States") → General Welfare Clause doctrine → Incorporation doctrine → Supremacy Clause → United States constitutional law → living Constitution theory →	appliesTo
108th United States Congress → 112th United States Congress → 72nd United States Congress → 76th United States Congress → 79th United States Congress → 82nd United States Congress → 87th United States Congress →	meetsUnderConstitution
Clerk of the United States House of Representatives → President of the United States Senate ("United States Constitution of 1787") → President pro tempore of the United States Senate → United States Congress ("Article I of the United States Constitution") → United States Senator from New York → Vice President of the United States →	createdBy
Presidency of the United States → Supreme Court of the United States ("Article III of the United States Constitution") → United States Congress → United States House of Representatives → United States Senate → federal judiciary of the United States →	establishedBy
American Dream → American state constitutions → Australian Constitution → Constitution of Puerto Rico → Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria → Pennsylvania Constitution →	influencedBy
Constitution of Apatzingán → Constitution of India ("Constitution of the United States") → Constitution of Norway → Constitution of the Republic of Texas (1836) → Maine Constitution → Mexican Constitution of 1824 →	inspiredBy
Federalist No. 51 ("U.S. Constitution") → The Federalist No. 34 → The Federalist No. 43 → The Federalist No. 44 → The Federalist No. 45 ("U.S. Constitution") → The Federalist Papers →	mainTopic
A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America → Federalist No. 40 → Subcommittee on the Constitution → Title 3 of the United States Code → Treasury Act of 1789 → United States Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves 1807 →	relatedTo
100th United States Congress → 58th United States Congress → 84th United States Congress → 98th United States Congress → 99th United States Congress →	convenesUnder
Federal Farmer → Northwest Ordinance → The Federalist No. 45 → The Federalist No. 46 → United States Declaration of Independence →	relatedDocument
James Wilson → John Rutledge → Richard Dobbs Spaight → William Livingston → William Paterson →	signatoryTo
Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands ("Constitution of the United States") → United States federal elections → United States law → United States territorial law →	basedOn
103rd United States Congress → 106th United States Congress → 95th United States Congress → 96th United States Congress →	convenedBy
115th United States Congress → 61st United States Congress → 83rd United States Congress → 93rd United States Congress →	convenesUnderConstitution
Guardians → United States Army → United States Marine Corps →	allegiance
Montpelier, Orange County, Virginia → One First Street NE, Washington, D.C. → The New York Packet →	associatedWith
Executive Order 11085 ("Constitution of the United States") → Executive Order 12829 ("Constitution of the United States") → Executive Order 12958 ("U.S. Constitution") →	authority
Chiafalo v. Washington ("U.S. Constitution") → Florida courts → federal judiciary of the United States →	interprets
5th congressional district of Florida → United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom → United States federal officials →	legalFramework
United States District Court for the District of New Mexico → United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico → United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio →	subjectMatter
Superior Court of Guam ("United States Constitution (as applicable)") → United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama →	applies
Government of the United States Virgin Islands ("Constitution of the United States") → United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ("Constitution of the United States") →	appliesConstitution
United States federal law → Vice President of the United States →	constitutionalBasis
United States Constitution ("Establishment Clause") → United States Constitution ("Takings Clause") →	contains
Constitutional Convention → Framers of the United States Constitution ("Constitution of the United States") →	draftedDocument
Establishment Clause → Free Exercise Clause →	foundInDocument
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois → United States politics →	governingDocument
United States Constitution ("Preamble") → United States Constitution ("Article I") →	hasPart
Archives I → National Archives Building →	houses
Los Angeles Municipal Code → Portland City Charter →	isSubjectTo
Supreme Court of the United States ("Constitution of the United States") → United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York →	jurisdiction
Appellate Section ("U.S. Constitution") → Criminal Section (U.S. DOJ Civil Rights Division) ("U.S. Constitution") →	legalAuthority
118th United States Congress → 81st United States Congress →	meetsUnder
California state law → New York State Senate districts ("U.S. Constitution") →	mustComplyWith
Constitution Avenue NW ("Constitution of the United States") → USS Constitution ("Constitution of the United States") →	namedAfter
U.S. Representative ("Constitution of the United States") → United States Senator from New York ("Constitution of the United States") →	oathOfOfficeTo
Pennsylvania → Virginia →	ratified
Article IV of the United States Constitution ("United States Constitution of 1787") →	adoptedWith
24th Amendment to the United States Constitution →	amends
Vice President of the United States →	appearsInDocument
First United States Congress →	appliesLegalFramework
United States District Court for the Southern District of California →	appliesLegalSystem
Criminal Court of Tennessee →	appliesStatute
United States constitutional amendments →	appliesToDocument
U.S. states →	arePartyTo
520 Chestnut Street →	associatedWithDocument
Executive Order 9347 ("Constitution of the United States") →	authorityBasis
Supreme Court of the United States →	authorizedBy
American civil religion →	centralSymbol
American →	citizenshipDefinedBy
Commerce Compromise →	codifiedIn
President of the United States ("Article II of the United States Constitution") →	constitutingInstrument
Guarantee of Republican Government →	constitutionalSource
75th United States Congress →	convenedUnderConstitution
President of the United States Senate →	definedIn
VPOTUS →	definedInDocument
Triumphant Democracy →	discusses
United States Code →	distinguishedFrom
Oath of Enlistment of the United States Armed Forces ("Constitution of the United States") →	focusOfAllegiance
United States government →	foundationDocument
Electoral College →	foundedByDocument
No Religious Test Clause →	foundIn
United States of America →	foundingDocument
United States foreign policy ("U.S. Constitution") →	guidedBy
United States federal law →	hasComponent
Washington, D.C. ("U.S. Constitution") →	hasFederalDistrictStatusUnder
Constitutional Convention →	hasMainSubject
United States law →	hasSupremeAuthority
United States residents ("United States Constitution (with some distinctions by status)") →	haveRightsUnder
executive branch of the United States →	headedByOfficeCreatedBy
United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois →	hearsCasesArisingUnder
Placer County Charter ("Constitution of the United States") →	higherLegalAuthority
Detroit City Charter →	higherLegalContext
National Archives and Records Administration →	holds
Republicanism →	inspired
Article VII of the United States Constitution →	isFinalArticleOf
Origination Clause →	isPartOf
Code of the District of Columbia →	isSubordinateTo
Contract Clause →	languageSource
United States v. Butler ("U.S. Constitution") →	lawApplied
To Secure These Rights →	legalBasisReferenced
Article VII – Amendments ("United States constitutional framework") →	legalSystem
2000 United States census →	legislativeBasis
Alabama courts →	limitedBy
Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution →	locatedInLegalCode
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ("Constitution of the United States, Article V amendments") →	locatedInLegalDocument
Constitution of Florida ("Constitution of the United States") →	modeledInPartOn
Constitution of the Confederate States of America ("Constitution of the United States") →	modeledOn
James Madison →	notableWork
President of the United States →	officeCreatedBy
Judiciary Act of 1789 →	organizedJudicialSystemUnder
Perpetual Union →	precedes
Emoluments Clause →	ratifiedWith
"I Have a Dream" speech →	referencesDocument
U.S. Constitution in Treasury activities →	relatesTo
Constitutional Convention →	result
Alexander Hamilton →	signature
Robert Morris →	signed
United States constitutional law →	source
United States law ("Constitution of the United States") →	sourceOfLaw
United States government →	sovereigntyBasedOn
United States constitutional history →	studies
Articles of Confederation ("Constitution of the United States") →	supersededBy
Federalists →	supportedDocument
Great Compromise ("Framing of the United States Constitution") →	temporalContext
1940 United States presidential election →	tookPlaceUnderConstitutionalFramework
Federal Hall National Memorial ("U.S. Constitution") →	topic
Jamal Greene →	writesAbout