Things That Are Not In the U.S Constitution
- The Air Force
- Congressional Districts
- The Electoral College
- Executive Order
- Executive Privilege
- Freedom of Expression
- (Absolute) Freedom of Speech and Press
- “From each according to his ability…”
- God
- Immigration
- Impeachment means removal from office
- Innocent until proven guilty
- It’s a free country
- Judicial Review
- Jury of Peers
- “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”
- Marriage
- Martial Law
- No taxation without representation
- Number of Justices in the Supreme Court
- “Of the people, by the people, for the people”
- Paper Money
- Political Parties
- Primary Elections
- Qualifications for Judges
- The right to privacy
- The right to travel
- The right to vote
- The separation of church and state
- The Separation of Powers Clause
- Slavery
- “We hold these truths to be self-evident”
- Other topics
These links go to longer explanations at the original source.
Further Reading:
- The Magna Carta (1215)
- The Mayflower Compact (1620)
- The Albany Plan (1754)
- Declaration of Rights (1765)
- The Boston Port Act (1774)
- The Administration of Justice Act (1774)
- The Massacusetts Government Act (1774)
- The Quartering Act (1774)
- The Quebec Act (1774)
- Declaration of Rights and Grievances (1774)
- Articles of Association (1774)
- Benjamin Franklin’s Articles of Confederation (1775)
- Common Sense (1776)
- Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776)
- Richard Henry Lee’s Independence Resolution (1776)
- Declaration of Independence (1776)
- Articles of Confederation (1778)
- The Treaty of Paris (1783)
- Report of the Annapolis Conference (1786)
- The Virginia Plan (1787)
- Charles Pinckney’s Plan (1787)
- The New Jersey Plan (1787)
- The British Plan (1787)
- August 6 Draft of the Constitution (1787)
- September 12 Draft of the Constitution (1787)
- Speech of Benjamin Franklin (1787)
- The United States Constitution (1787)
- The Letter of Transmittal (1787)
- Washington’s Letter to Congress (1787)
- Wilson’s 4th of July Address (1788)
- Madison Introduces the Bill of Rights (1789)
- Twelve Articles of Amendment (1789)
- Treaty Between the United States and Tripoli (1797)
- Jefferson’s Wall of Separation Letter (1802)
- The Star-Spangled Banner (1814)
- The Report of the Hartford Convention (1815)
- Declaration of Sentiments (1848)
- Fugitive Slave Act (1850)
- Confederate Constitution (1861)
- Gettysburg Address (1863)
- Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
- The Pledge of Allegiance (1892)
- The American’s Creed (1917)
- The I Have a Dream Speech (1963)
- The Miranda Warning (1966)
- The Lemon Test (1971)
- Barack Obama’s Keynote Speech (2004)
- Virginia Joint Resolution 728 (2007)
The ratification documents of each of the original 13 states (plus Vermont) are also reproduced here:
- Delaware, December 7, 1787
- Pennsylvania, December 12, 1787
- New Jersey, December 18, 1787
- Georgia, January 2, 1788
- Connecticut, January 9, 1788
- Massachusetts, February 6, 1788
- Maryland, April 28, 1788
- South Carolina, May 23, 1788
- New Hampshire, June 21, 1788
- Virginia, June 26, 1788
- New York, July 26, 1788
- North Carolina, November 21, 1789
- Rhode Island, May 29, 1790
- Vermont, January 10, 1791
- Collated list
A list of current versions of each state’s constitution is available:
The following significant historical documents, not hosted on this site, may be of interest:
- The Federalist Papers
- Madison’s Notes on the Convention
- The Papers of George Washington
- The Papers of James Madison
- The Papers of Thomas Jefferson
- Other Significant Documents of the 18th century
The following resources are also available for research into historical American documents:
Reblog for awesome.
Are we still under British rule?