Author: Charlotte Greene
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The New York Times CyberTimes – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
The New York Times CyberTimes [Editor’s note: this column appeared in the August 14, 1997 edition of the New York Times CyberTimes online news source. The original is still archived here. This local copy is maintained just in case the original ever disappears from the Web.] August 14, 1997 One Man’s Passion for ‘Living’ Constitutions…
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The Lemon Test – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
The Lemon Test Advertisement In 1971, the Supreme Court heard the case of Lemon v Kurtzman (403 US 602). In the case, the Court decided that a Rhode Island law that paid some of the salary of some parochial school teachers was unconstitutional. The case is discussed in more detail on the Constitution and Religion…
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The Constitutional Dictionary – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
The Constitutional Dictionary This document contains words, phrases, and concepts used in the United States Constitution. Links to this document can be found on the U.S. Constitution Page. Note that some words are defined only as they apply to the Constitution itself. You may also wish to see the Popular Names Page, the Notes Page,…
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First Twelve Articles of Amendment – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
First Twelve Articles of Amendment Advertisement On June 8, 1789, James Madison rose in the House of Representatives and read his thoughts about amendments to the Constitution. Based on the recommendations of several ratifying conventions and the fears expressed by the Anti-Federalists, his suggestions would insert many rights of the people into the Constitution. Not…
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September 12 Draft of the Constitution – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
September 12 Draft of the Constitution Advertisement On Saturday, September 8, 1787, the Constitutional Convention appointed members to the Committee of Style and Arrangement. The Committee was tasked with taking the August 6 draft and editing it to include all points decided by the Convention, and to polish the document into something to be presented…
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August 6 Draft of the Constitution – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
August 6 Draft of the Constitution Advertisement On Tuesday, July 24, 1787, the Constitutional Convention appointed members to the Committee of Detail. The Committee was tasked with taking all of the points debated by the Convention up to that point and constructing a document that could be used as a basis for further debate. The…
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Signers of The Declaration of Independence – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Signers of The Declaration of Independence Because I found the information difficult to find on the Internet, I compiled the demographics for the Signers of the Declaration of Independence for this page. It mirrors the data found on a similar page which has demographics for the attendees of the Constitutional Convention and another for the…
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Constitutional Topic: Presidential Terms – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Presidential Terms Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns presidential terms – the beginning and ending of the President’s service. The primary sources for information about presidential…
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Constitutional Topic: Political Systems – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Political Systems Advertisement This page concerns Political Systems. The Constitution describes the U.S. political system. This document will describe political systems in general, and then use specific examples of real-world political systems. In the course of creating this page, Wikipedia was an invaluable resource. Another primary source was Comparative Politics by Gregory Mahler…
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Constitutional Topic: Presidential Line of Succession – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Presidential Line of Succession Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the Presidential Line of Succession. The Line of Succession is mentioned in two places in the…
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Constitutional Topic: Student Rights – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Student Rights The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Student Rights. Generally speaking, the Constitution applies equally to everyone, regardless of age, color, race, religion, or any other…
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Constitutional Topic: Slavery – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Slavery Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Slavery. Slavery is mentioned in two main places in the Constitution; in Article 1, Section 2 Clause 3, and…
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Constitutional Topic: Separation of Powers – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Separation of Powers The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the Separation of Powers. The concept of Separation of Powers is embodied in the Constitution in the 1st…
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Constitutional Topic: Rights and Responsibilities – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Rights and Responsibilities The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Constitutional Rights and Responsibilities. Generally speaking, governments are set up to make society a better, more orderly place…
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Constitutional Topic: The Constitution and Religion – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: The Constitution and Religion Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the Constitution and Religion. Religion appears is especially contained in the 1st Amendment. Source material for…
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Constitutional Topic: Death of a Presidential Candidate – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Death of a Presidential Candidate Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the how the Constitution handles the death of a presidential candidate. This topic is handled…
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Constitutional Topic: The Preamble – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: The Preamble The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns The Preamble. The first paragraph of the Constitution provides the context for the Constitution — the “why” of the…
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Constitutional Topic: Presidential Disability – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Presidential Disability The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Presidential Disability. Presidential Disability is mentioned in the 25th Amendment. The Topic Page for the Presidential Line of Succession…
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Constitutional Topic: Presidential Campaigns – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Presidential Campaigns Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the Presidential Campaign Process. The Constitution details how the President and Vice President are chosen are in Article…
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Constitutional Topic: Presidential Pardons – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Presidential Pardons The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Presidential Pardons. Pardons are mentioned in the Constitution at Article 2, Section 2. A reference of particular use in…
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Constitutional Topic: Rewriting the Constitution – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Rewriting the Constitution The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the ideas for rewriting the United States Constitution through history. Amendment of the Constitution is detailed in Article…
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Constitutional Topic: Martial Law – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Martial Law Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Martial Law. Martial law is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, but the suspension of habeas corpus is…
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Constitutional Topic: Military Justice – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Military Justice Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Military Justice. Military justice is not mentioned specifically in the Constitution, but can be found in Article 1,…
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Constitutional Topic: Marriage – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Marriage The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Marriage. Though not mentioned in the Constitution, marriage has become a constitutional hot-button topic in recent years. Source material for…
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Constitutional Topic: How a Bill Becomes a Law – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: How a Bill Becomes a Law Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Laws – or, more specifically, how a bill becomes a law. The general process…
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Constitutional Topic: Official Language – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Official Language Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns an Official Language for the United States. No official language is mentioned or contemplated in the Constitution. Many…
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Constitutional Topic: Constitutional Interpretation – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Constitutional Interpretation The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the various interpretations of the Constitution that have evolved over time. The Constitution is many things to many people.…
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Constitutional Topic: Presidential Inaugurations – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Presidential Inaugurations The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Presidential Inaugurations. The inauguration of the President is mentioned in the Constitution in Article 2, Section 1, in the…
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Constitutional Topic: The Government – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: The Government The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the Government. The Constitution of the United States provides a basic framework for the government of the United States.…
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Constitutional Topic: Federalism – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Federalism The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Federalism. Federalism is not mentioned explicitly in the Constitution, but federalism is one of the many concepts that the Constitution…
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Constitutional Topic: The Federalists and Anti-Federalists – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: The Federalists and Anti-Federalists The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the Federalists versus the Anti-Federalists and the struggle for ratification. Generally speaking, the federalists were in favor…
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Constitutional Topic: The Electoral College – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: The Electoral College Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the Electoral College. The Electoral College is embodied in the Constitution in Article 2, Section 1, and…
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Constitutional Topic: Due Process – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Due Process The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Due Process. Due Process is mentioned in two places in the Constitution; in the 5th Amendment and in the…
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Constitutional Topic: The Draft – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: The Draft Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the draft. The draft is seen in the Constitution at Article 1, Section 8, Clause 12. The Constitution…
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Constitutional Topic: The Declaration of Independence – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: The Declaration of Independence Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the Declaration of Independence, the text of which is available at this site. The final, signed…
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Constitutional Topic: Checks and Balances – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Checks and Balances The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Constitutional Checks and Balances. The entire Constitution, especially Articles 1, 2, and 3. Source material for this topic…
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Constitutional Topic: Citizenship – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Citizenship The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Citizenship. Citizenship is mentioned in Article 1, Section 2, Article 1, Section 3, Article 1, Section 8, Article 2, Section…
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Constitutional Topic: The Census – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: The Census Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the census. The Census is mentioned in Article 1, Section 2 and in passing in the 14th Amendment.…
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Constitutional Topic: The Constitutional Convention – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: The Constitutional Convention The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The Convention Timeline may also be of interest. A list of members of…
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Constitutional Topic: The Cabinet – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: The Cabinet Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the Cabinet, the group of people that head the various departments of the Executive Branch and to whom…
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Constitutional Topic: The Bill of Rights – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: The Bill of Rights The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns The Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is the common name for Amendments 1 through 9…
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Constitutional Topic: Articles of Confederation – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Articles of Confederation Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the Articles of Confederation. The Articles are available on this site. The Articles of Confederation is the…
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Constitutional Topic: Ratification Conventions – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: Ratification Conventions The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Amendment Ratification Conventions. Article 5 details a couple of ways that an amendment to the Constitution can be proposed…
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Constitutional Topic: The Second Amendment – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Topic: The Second Amendment Advertisement The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns The Second Amendment. This topic has a home directly in the Constitution, at the 2nd Amendment. A…
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Teaching the Constitution – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Teaching the Constitution Advertisement Federal law passed in 2004 requires that all schools that receive federal funding provide a course to all students on the Constitution on Constitution Day, September 17. The law is known as H.R. 4818, and the text is found at section 111(b): Each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a…
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Search the USConstitution.net Site – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Search the USConstitution.net Site Spy on searches. See the 30 most recent searches handled by the search engine. Enter a word or words to search on in the box below. All messages and all pages will be searched for the words you provide. See the details below. Search for: (Search Tips) Allow embedded matches (?)…
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Message Board Notes and Policies – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Message Board Notes and Policies General Posting Policies Special Notes for Students The forums at the USConstitution.net site are used to allow visitors to communicate with the Webmaster and with each other. The software used by USConstitution.net is YaBB — it has all the features one expects from a Web-based forum including threaded topics, user…
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The Best of the USConstitution Message Board – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
The Best of the USConstitution Message Board There have been forums active on this site since August 1997. In that time, many pearls of wisdom have been posted to the forums, by many people, on many subjects. This page is a “Best Of” of sorts. “Nominations” for inclusion on this page are sent in by…
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How to use YaBBC in the Message Boards – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
How to use YaBBC in the Message Boards Advertisement Other pages: Board Policies, Posting Tips The software used by USConstitution.net to support user messages is called YaBB, and it includes a macro system for text mark-up called YABBC. HTML used in messages will NOT survive – if you type “<b>bold</b>” in a message, the “bold”…
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Copying USConstitution.net Files – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Copying USConstitution.net Files Because many of the files at this site are HTML copies of important documents in United States history, direct copying of some of the files to other Web sites is permitted. There are a few steps that Webmasters must take before copying any of the files, however. Please read the steps carefully…
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Notes From the Constitutional Convention – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Notes From the Constitutional Convention The Avalon Project, supported and hosted by Yale Law School, is a rich source for electronic copies of historical documents. Avalon includes electronic versions of all of Madison’s published notes from the Constitutional Convention. Rather than reinvent the wheel and convert these important documents to this website’s conventions, links are…
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Comparing the Articles and the Constitution – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Comparing the Articles and the Constitution The United States has operated under two constitutions. The first, The Articles of Confederation, was in effect from March 1, 1781, when Maryland ratified it. The second, The Constitution, replaced the Articles when it was ratified by New Hampshire on June 21, 1788. The two documents have much in…
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USConstitution.net Message Boards – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
USConstitution.net Message Boards Advertisement Since 1997, the USConstitution.net site has had forums which allow users to talk to the Webmaster and to each other. Most messages posted to the forums still exist on the site, allowing users to review past opinions and allowing searches to access previously performed research. This page provides access to all…
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Ratification of Constitutional Amendments – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Ratification of Constitutional Amendments Article 5 of the Constitution provides for the amendment of the Constitution by various means (see The Amendments Page for details). However an amendment is proposed, it does not become part of the Constitution unless it is ratified by three-quarters of the states (either the legislatures thereof, or in amendment conventions).…
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Some Proposed Amendments – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Some Proposed Amendments The Constitution is a living and evolving document. One of the ways that the Constitution is changed is through the amendment process. It can be an arduous process, requiring agreement by many different segments of society and the government, and it does not always work out. But it is the only way…
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Notes on the Amendments – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Notes on the Amendments Advertisement Each Amendment to the Constitution came about for a reason — to overrule a Supreme Court decision, to force a societal change, or to revise the details of the Constitution. This page will give an overview of how each Amendment came to be. The process for adopting an amendment is…
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The Failed Amendments – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
The Failed Amendments Advertisement Throughout the history of the Constitution, 27 changes have been made through the Amendment process. Amendments are not easy to pass, and several amendments have been proposed over time, but which failed to pass the second hurdle – acceptance by the states. This page lists the amendments to the Constitution which…
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Constitutional Amendments – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Constitutional Amendments Amending the United States Constitution is no small task. This page will detail the amendment procedure as spelled out in the Constitution, and will also list some of the Amendments that have not been passed, as well as give a list of some amendments proposed in Congress during several of the past sessions.…
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Advertising on USConstitution.net – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Advertising on USConstitution.net The U.S. Constitution Online site has always been free, and always will be. The site is not run by a big school, business, or municipality. It is run by little ole me. The site costs me an enormous amount of time, and a fair amount of money. I’m not looking for any…
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Common Sense – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net
Common Sense Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England, on January 29, 1737. He was raised by a Quaker father and an Anglican mother. He apprenticed as a corset maker, a profession that he drifted in and out of for many years. In 1764, he studied for and was admitted as an excise officer, though…