The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation (popularly known as the Constitution Annotated) contains legal analysis and interpretation of the United States Constitution, based primarily on Supreme Court case law. This regularly updated resource is especially useful when researching the constitutional implications of a specific issue or topic. The Featured Topics and Cases page highlights recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that demonstrate pivotal interpretations of the Constitution's provisions.

The Constitution comprises the primary law of the United States. It describes the three chief branches of the Federal Government and their jurisdictions, and lays out the basic rights of the country's citizens. The world's longest surviving government charter, the Constitution was framed in May 1787 by a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen original states in Philadelphia.

The Constitution Annotated provides a clause-by-clause explanation of this landmark document, with references to nearly 8,000 Supreme Court cases. Constitutional law experts from the Congressional Research Service author the treatise and the Government Printing Office publishes the editions and supplements.

The 2013 Centennial Edition of the Constitution Annotated

The centennial edition of the treatise was published by the Government Printing Office (GPO) in 2013, along with a web version. Publications were formerly limited to hard-bound decennial editions and separate soft-cover biannual supplements, but the online resource allows for the publication of up-to-date PDF versions of the treatise throughout each Supreme Court term. Both full-text searches and browsing by subject or case are available through the GPO FDsys website.

Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation

Includes analysis of Supreme Court cases decided through July 1, 2014

Articles, amendments, the index and tables from the Constitution Annotated are provided here as separate PDF files. The complete Constitution Annotated (PDF, 18.58 MB) is large, and may take several minutes to download. Save the file, then open it in a PDF reader. The complete document provides interactive links from the table of contents, index, and table of cases.

Literal Prints - Constitution of the United States (PDF, 220 KB) and Amendments to the Constitution (PDF, 242 KB)

Article I
(PDF, 2.16 MB)		 Legislative Department
Article II
(PDF, 1.31 MB)		 Executive Department
Article III
(PDF, 1.67 MB)		 Judicial Department
Article IV
(PDF, 535 KB)		 States' Relations
Article V
(PDF, 266 KB)		 Mode of Amendment
Article VI
(PDF, 499 KB)		 Prior Debts, National Supremacy Clause, and Oaths of Office
Article VII
(PDF, 157 KB)		 Ratification

Amendments to the Constitution

Bill of Rights
(PDF, 230 KB)		 First Through Tenth Amendments
1st Amendment
(PDF, 1.8 MB)		 Religion and Free Expression
2nd Amendment
(PDF, 181 KB)		 Bearing Arms
3rd Amendment
(PDF, 155 KB)		 Quartering Soldiers
4th Amendment
(PDF, 687 KB)		 Search and Seizure
5th Amendment
(PDF, 971 KB)		 Rights of Persons
6th Amendment
(PDF, 578 KB)		 Rights of Accused in Criminal Prosecutions
7th Amendment
(PDF, 258 KB)		 Civil Trials
8th Amendment
(PDF, 455 KB)		 Further Guarantees in Criminal Cases
9th Amendment
(PDF, 171 KB)		 Unenumerated Rights
10th Amendment
(PDF, 231 KB)		 Reserved Powers
11th Amendment
(PDF, 336 KB)		 Suits Against States
12th Amendment
(PDF, 160 KB)		 Election of President
13th Amendment
(PDF, 201 KB)		 Slavery and Involuntary Servitude
14th Amendment
(PDF, 2.41 MB)		 Rights Guaranteed
15th Amendment
(PDF, 250 KB)		 Right of Citizens to Vote
16th Amendment
(PDF, 231 KB)		 Income Tax
17th Amendment
(PDF, 162 KB)		 Popular Election of Senators
18th Amendment
(PDF, 164 KB)		 Prohibition of Intoxicating Liquors
19th Amendment
(PDF, 160 KB)		 Women's Suffrage Rights
20th Amendment
(PDF, 168 KB)		 Commencement of the Terms of Office
21st Amendment
(PDF, 223 KB)		 Repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment
22nd Amendment
(PDF, 161 KB)		 Presidential Tenure
23rd Amendment
(PDF, 143 KB)		 Presidential Electors for D.C.
24th Amendment
(PDF, 161 KB)		 Abolition of the Poll Tax
25th Amendment
(PDF, 165 KB)		 Presidential Vacancy and Disability
26th Amendment
(PDF, 157 KB)		 Reduction of the Voting Age
27th Amendment
(PDF, 159 KB)		 Congressional Pay Limitation

The Index and Tables From the Constitution Annotated