U.S. Federal Law Sources—Constitutional

The U.S. Constitution in pdf and other image formats

The Constitution of the United States of America as Amended with Unratified Amendments and Analytical Index (House Document 108-95, 2003; pdf)

The Constitution of the United States with Index and The Declaration of Independence (22nd edition 2006; Senate Document 109-17; pdf)

The Constitution of the United States (NARA; facsimile edition of original documents with transcripts; includes high-resolution jpeg images)

The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation (Congressional Research Service; includes annotations of cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court to June 29, 2004; 2002 edition with 2004 Supplement; Senate Documents 108-17 and 108-19; pdf) (see also CRS Annotated Constitution (Congressional Research Service and Cornell LII; plain text))

The U.S. Constitution in the Library

The Constitution of the United States of America as Amended with Unratified Amendments and Analytical Index (Reference KF 4525 2003x) (House Document 108-95, 2003)

The Constitution of the United States with Index and The Declaration of Independence (Lamont Government Documents Y 1.1/3:109-17) (22nd edition 2006; Senate Document 109-17)

The Constitution of the United States (Reading Room and Reference KF 62 2000x) (United States Code, 2000 ed.; see volume 1, Organic Laws)

The Constitution of the United States, Annotated (Reading Room and Reference KF 62 1927 .W45) (United States Code Annotated; see the first several volumes)

The Constitution of the United States, Annotated (Reading Room and Reference KF 62 1972 .L38) (United States Code Service; see the first several volumes)

The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation (Reference KF 4527 .U54 2004) (Congressional Research Service; includes annotations of cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court to June 29, 2004; 2002 edition with 2004 Supplement; Senate Documents 108-17 and 108-19)

The U.S. Constitution on LexisNexis & Westlaw

LexisNexis Constitution of the United States (Search) (United States Code Service; LexisNexis password required)

Westlaw Constitution of the United States (Search) (United States Code Annotated; Westlaw password required)

Selected Constitutional Law Treatises & Sources

American Constitutional Law by Laurence H. Tribe, 3rd ed. 2000 (Reading Room and Reserve KF 4550 .T785 2000x) (Not yet completed, volume 1 only is in print; see the 2nd ed. for topics not covered in the 3rd ed.)
American Constitutional Law by Laurence H. Tribe, 2nd ed. 1988 (Reading Room and Reserve KF 4550 .T785 1988)

Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States by Joseph Story, 1833 (HeinOnline Legal Classics Library; 3 volumes; pdf; Harvard University ID and PIN required)
Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States by Joseph Story with an introduction by Ronald D. Rotunda and John E. Nowak, 1987 reprint of 1833 ed. (Reading Room KF 4541 .S7 1987)

The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation (Congressional Research Service; includes annotations of cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court to June 29, 2004; 2002 edition with 2004 Supplement; Senate Documents 108-17 and 108-19; pdf)
The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation (Reference KF 4527 .U54 2004) (Congressional Research Service; includes annotations of cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court to June 29, 2004; 2002 edition with 2004 Supplement; Senate Documents 108-17 and 108-19)
CRS Annotated Constitution (LII and Congressional Research Service; 1992 ed. with 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000 supplements)

Constitutional Law by John E. Nowak and Ronald D. Rotunda, 7th ed. 2004 (Reading Room and Reserve KF 4550 .N6 2004x) (Hornbook)

Encyclopedia of the American Constitution edited by Leonard W. Levy and Kenneth L. Karst, 2nd ed. 2000 (Reference KF 4548 .E53 2000)

Treatise on Constitutional Law: Substance and Procedure by Ronald D. Rotunda and John E. Nowak, 3rd ed. 1999 (Reading Room and Reserve KF 4550 .R63 1999x) (5 volume treatise kept up to date by pocket parts)

LII: Constitutional Law (Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute)

Selected Constitutional History Sources

1787: Drafting the U.S. Constitution edited by Wilbourn E. Benton, 1986 (Reading Room KF 4510 .A135 1986)

The American Constitution: A Documentary Record (The Avalon Project at Yale Law School)

A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation (Library of Congress, American Memory; A Century of Lawmaking provides access to the records of the U.S. Congress up to 1875, including the Journals of the Continental Congress; the Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774-1789; Farrand's Records, The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787; and Elliot's Debates, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution. Includes high-resolution tiff images)

Documentary History of the Constitution of the United States of America, 1786-1870: derived from the records, manuscripts, and rolls deposited in the Bureau of Rolls and Library of the Department of State, 1894, Rothman 1998 ed. (Reading Room KF 4502 .R63 1998)

The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution edited by Merrill Jensen, 1976- (Reading Room KF 4502 .D63) (Volume 1: Constitutional documents and records, 1776-1787; volume 2: Ratification of the Constitution by the States, Pennsylvania; volume 3: Ratification of the Constitution by the States, Delaware, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut; volumes 4-7: Ratification of the Constitution by the States, Massachusetts; volumes 8-10: Ratification of the Constitution by the States, Virginia; volumes 13-18: Commentaries on the Constitution, public and private; volume 19: Ratification of the Constitution by the States, New York; volume 20: Ratification of the Constitution by the States, New York) (Covers 1786-1788, taken from newspapers, letters, petitions, resolutions and debates)
Microform supplement to The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution (Microform Room Drawer 947) (1-43: Pennsylvania; 44-51: Delaware; 52-55: New Jersey; 56-59: Georgia; 60-67: Connecticut; 68-71: Virginia; covers 1786-1788, taken from newspapers, letters, petitions, resolutions and debates)

Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789 (Library of Congress, American Memory; The Continental Congress Broadside Collection and the Constitutional Convention Broadside Collection contain documents relating to the work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. Items include extracts of the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, committee reports, treaties, and early printed versions of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. A number of items contain manuscript annotations not recorded elsewhere that offer insight into the delicate process of creating consensus. In many cases, multiple copies bearing manuscript annotations are available to compare and contrast. Includes high-resolution jpeg and tiff images)

Elliot's Debates, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, as Recommended by the General Convention at Philadelphia in 1787 collected and revised from contemporary publications by Jonathan Elliott, published under the sanction of Congress, 1987 reprint of the 1888 2nd ed. (Reading Room KF 4502 .E5x 1987) (Together with the journal of the Federal convention, Luther Martin’s letter, Yates’s minutes, Congressional opinions, Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of ’98-’99, and other illustrations of the Constitution; volume 5: Debates on the adoption of the federal Constitution, in the convention held at Philadelphia, in 1787; with a diary of the debates of the Congress of the Confederation; as reported by James Madison revised and newly arranged by Jonathan Elliot, supplementary to Elliot’s Debates, 1845)
Elliot's Debates, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution (Library of Congress, American Memory; This five-volume collection compiled by Jonathan Elliot in the mid-nineteenth century remains the best source for materials about the national government's transitional period between the closing of the Constitutional Convention in September 1787 and the opening of the First Federal Congress in March 1789. Elliot's Debates collects documents pertinent to the ratification of the Constitution, including: The Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation, The Journal of the Constitutional Convention (from an earlier, less accurate version than that in Max Farrand's The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787), the text of the proposed Constitution, and the debates in the various states. Includes high-resolution tiff images)

Essays on the Constitution of the United States, published during its discussion by the people, 1787-1788 edited by Paul Leicester Ford, 1892 (Microform Room 19th-Century Legal Treatises No. 30570-30574; Storage US 961 FOR)
Essays on the Constitution of the United States, published during its discussion by the people, 1787-1788 edited by Paul Leicester Ford, 1892 (The Making of Modern Law; includes high-resolution png images; Harvard University ID and PIN required)

Farrand's Records, The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 edited by Max Farrand, 1937 revised ed. (Reading Room KF 4510 .F37x 1937) (With a general index by David M. Matteson)
Supplement to Max Farrand’s The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 edited by James H. Hutson with the assistance of Leonard Rapport, 1987 (Reading Room KF 4510 .F37x 1987)
Farrand's Records, The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 (Library of Congress, American Memory; One of the great scholarly works of the early twentieth century, Farrand's Records remains the single best source of the documentary record of the Constitutional Convention. The notes taken at that time by James Madison, and later revised by him, form the largest single block of material other than the official proceedings. The three volumes also include notes and letters by many other participants, as well as the various constitutional plans proposed during the convention. Includes high-resolution tiff images)

The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and other Organic Laws of the States, Territories, and Colonies now or heretofore forming the United States of America compiled and edited under the act of Congress of June 30, 1906 by Francis Newton Thorpe, Hein 1993 reprint of 1909 ed. (Widener WID-LC KF 4530 .T46 1993) (7 volumes)
The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and other organic laws of the United States compiled under an order of the United States Senate by Benjamin Perley Poore, 1877 (Reading Room KF 4530 .P66x 1877) (2 volumes)

The Federalist Papers Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay; edited by Clinton Rossiter with a new introduction and notes by Charles R. Kesler, Merton 1999 ed. (Reading Room KF 4515 .F4 1999b)
The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, As Agreed Upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787 special edition printed and sold by J. and A. McLean, 1788 (HeinOnline Legal Classics Library; 2 volumes; pdf; Harvard University ID and PIN required)
The Federalist Papers (Library of Congress, THOMAS; The Federalist, commonly referred to as The Federalist Papers, is a series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison between October 1787 and May 1788. The essays, published anonymously under the pen name Publius in various New York state newspapers, were written to urge New Yorkers to ratify the proposed Constitution. The essays explain particular provisions of the Constitution in detail and, for this reason, are often used today to help interpret the intentions of those drafting the Constitution. This electronic text of The Federalist was compiled for Project Gutenberg by scholars who drew on many available versions of the papers.)

The Founders’ Constitution edited by Philip B. Kurland and Ralph Lerner, 1987 (Reading Room and Reference KF 4502 .F68 1987) (U.S. Constitution annotated with the selected "thoughts, opinions, and arguments of the Founders" drawn from various sources; volume 1: Major themes; volume 2: Preamble through Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4; volume 3: Article 1, Section 8, Clause 5, through Article 2, Section 1; volume 4: Article 2, Section 2, through Article 7; volume 5: Amendments I-XII; includes bibliographical references)
The Founders’ Constitution edited by Philip B. Kurland and Ralph Lerner, 1987 (University of Chicago Press and the Liberty Fund; U.S. Constitution annotated with the selected "thoughts, opinions, and arguments of the Founders" drawn from various sources)

Pamphlets on the Constitution of the United States, published during its discussion by the people, 1787-1788 edited with notes and a bibliography by Paul Leicester Ford, 2000, originally published 1888 (Widener Harvard Depository KF 4515 .P36 2000x) (Law School Rare US 961 FOR Consult Special Collections)

Proposed Amendments to the U.S. Constitution: 1787-2001 edited by John R. Vile, 2003 (Reference KF 4557 .P76 2003) (3 volumes; includes bibliographical references and indices)

Sources and Documents of United States Constitutions edited and annotated by William F. Swindler, 1973-1988 (Reading Room KF 4530 .S94) (Contents: volume 1: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California; volume 2: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia; volume 3: Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa; volume 4: Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland; volume 4A: Louisiana; volume 5: Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri; volume 6: Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey; volume 7: New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio; volume 8: Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina; volume 9: South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont; volume 10: Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming; volume 11: Bibliography and Index)

Sources and Documents of United States Constitutions, second series edited and annotated by William F. Swindler, 1982- (Reading Room KF 4530 .S68 1982) (Contents: volume 1: National documents, 1492-1800; volume 2: National documents, 1801-1825; volume 3: National documents, 1826-1900; volume 4: National documents, 1901-1977)

Compiled and edited by Michael Jimenez.

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