Primary and Secondary Sources

Aggie Kenny. <em>Larry Flynt (Foreground) & Issacman [sic]</em>, 1988. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress — Kenny, Aggie, artist. *Larry Flynt (Foreground) & Issacman* [sic], 1988. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

The collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of primary and secondary source material associated with the U.S. Constitution, including government documents, reference tools, photographs, and prints.

Provided below are links to primary and secondary research resources and materials within the Library as well as select external sources. Consult the Related Research Guides tab for additional Library research materials.

A bill of rights as provided in the ten original amendments to the Constitution of the United States in force December 15, 1791. 1950. Printed Ephemera Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress.

"Silent sentinel" Alison Turnbull Hopkins at the White House on New Jersey Day. Jan. 30, 1917. Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

Thomas Kelly, contributor. The Fifteenth amendment. 1870. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

E.W. Kemble, artist. Congress - 14th Amendment 2nd section. 1902. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

George Washington Papers, Series 4, General Correspondence: Constitution, Printed, with Marginal Notes by George Washington. September 12, 1787. Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

NAACP supporters marching with signs, "Vote for freedom," Selma, Alabama. 1965. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Primary Sources

Below are links to sources for primary documents relevant to constitutional law and history.

The United States Constitution
Provides a readable and searchable version of the text of the United States Constitution and its amendments.
Constitution of the United States: Primary Documents in American History
A Library of Congress guide providing a comprehensive collection of online and physical primary source material held by the Library of Congress related to the creation of the Constitution.
Bill of Rights: Primary Documents in American History
A Library of Congress guide providing access to digital materials at the Library of Congress, links to related external websites, and a print bibliography related to the creation of the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Federalist Papers: Primary Documents in American History
A Library of Congress guide providing access to the series of essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay arguing for the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and are considered some of the most important sources for interpreting the Constitution.

The Anti-Federalist Papers by Patrick Henry
Call Number: JK155 .H46 2020
ISBN: 0486843459
Published/Created: 2020-05-21
Between the first proposals of a federal Constitution in 1787 and the document's 1789 ratification, an intense debate raged among the nation's founding fathers. The Federalist Papers favored the adoption of the Constitution, but other early statesmen opposed its ratification. The latter group, writing under pseudonyms, amassed a substantial number of influential essays, speeches, and letters that warned of the dangers inherent in a powerful central government.

Library of Congress Manuscript Division
The Library of Congress’ Manuscript Division is home to a treasure trove of manuscripts from American history. Here you can utilize these Finding Aids to find reports, notes, journals, letters, memoranda, and printed items documenting the drafting of the United States Constitution, the Constitutional Convention, and proposals relating to the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments to the Constitution.
Library of Congress Rare Book & Special Collections
This collection housed at the Library of Congress holds many rare and historic books and documents related to the Constitution and its amendments, including the Constitutional Convention Broadsides.

Case Law Research

For those interested in more deeply delving into the case law research that underpins much of the Constitution Annotated’s essays, below are resources for in-person and off-site researchers.

Free and Government Websites

Government websites are increasingly offering free access to court decisions and legal documents online.

Guide to Law Online
Links to individual federal and state court websites.
How to Find Free Case Law Online
A research guide to help you locate free case law on the internet using Google Scholar, CourtListener, Caselaw Access Project, FindLaw, and Justia.
eScholarship
eScholarship® provides scholarly publishing and repository services that enable departments, research units, publishing programs, and individual scholars associated with the University of California to have direct control over the creation and dissemination of the full range of their scholarship.
Federal Court Finder
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts provides a federal court finder tool to locate the websites of individual federal courts, many of which include the text of recent decisions from that court.
Judicial Review of Congress Database External
The Judicial Review of Congress dataset catalogs all the cases in which the U.S. Supreme Court has substantively reviewed the constitutionality of a provision or application of a federal law
LexisNexis U.S. Voting Laws & Legislation Center External
This voting law tool is provided by the LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation to provide citizens with free access to the most comprehensive collection of US voting laws, legislative developments, and news.
Opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court (1992- )
The Supreme Court of the United States provides access to recent decisions and bound volumes of the U.S. Reports from 1992 to the present.
OYEZ
A multimedia database about the United States Supreme Court which includes audio files of oral arguments, abstracts of key constitutional cases, and information on Supreme Court justices.
United States Court Opinions
A project by the U.S. Government Publishing Office and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to provide access to opinions from selected U.S. courts, with content from April 2004 to the present.
United States Reports (1754-2003)
The Law Library of Congress provides access to digitized bound volumes of the U.S. Reports from 1754 to 2003.

Subscription Databases

The subscription resources are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

Adams Papers Digital Edition External
Access is limited to patrons on site at the Library of Congress.
American Civil Liberties Union Papers, 1912-1990 External
Access is limited to patrons on site at the Library of Congress.
Bloomberg Law (Patron Access)
Access only available in the Law Library Reading Room; see library staff for assistance.
HeinOnline
Access is limited to patrons on site at the Library of Congress.
LLMC Digital
Access is limited to patrons on site at the Library of Congress.
Nexis Uni
Access is limited to patrons on site at the Library of Congress.
Papers of John Marshall Digital Edition External
Access is limited to patrons on site at the Library of Congress.
ProQuest Supreme Court Insight
Access is limited to patrons on site at the Library of Congress.
Westlaw Patron Access
Access is limited to patrons in the Law Library Reading Room.

Additional Reading and Select Print Sources

Below are links to additional reading sources from the Congressional Research Service as well as select print secondary sources in the Library of Congress' collections on constitutional law utilized by CRS attorneys.

Reports

Beyond the Constitution Annotated: Table of Additional Resources
A searchable table of CRS reports relevant to constitutional research and case law.
CRS Reports
This collection provides the public with access to research products produced by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) for the United States Congress. These reports were created for the sole purpose of supporting Congress in its legislative, oversight, and representational duties.

Books

Aspen Treatise for Federal Jurisdiction by Erwin Chemerinsky
Call Number: KF8858
ISBN: 9781543821116
Published/Created: 2020-11-16
In the Eighth Edition of Federal Jurisdiction, luminary author Erwin Chemerinsky unpacks the black letter law and underlying policy issues of his subject with the clarity and penetrating insight for which he is renowned.
Century of Struggle by Eleanor Flexner; Ellen Fitzpatrick
Call Number: HQ1410 .F6 1996
ISBN: 0674106539
Published/Created: 1996-03-01
Century of Struggle tells the story of one of the great social movements in American history. The struggle for women's voting rights was one of the longest, most successful, and in some respects most radical challenges ever posed to the American system of electoral politics.
Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States by Joseph Story
Call Number: KF4541 .S7 2005
ISBN: 9781584775157
Published/Created: 2005-07-01
Reprint of the second edition, with additions by his son, W.W. Story 1819-1895]. Originally published: Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1851. Two volumes. xxxiii, 734; 632 pp. First published in 1833, this work is generally considered to be the most important work written on the American Constitution before the Civil War, and it remains an important work. Dedicated to John Marshall, it presents a strongly Nationalist interpretation. It is divided into three books. Book I contains a history of the colonies and discussion of their charters. Book II discusses the Continental Congress and analyzes the flaws that crippled the Articles of Confederation. Book III begins with a history of the Constitution and its ratification. This is followed by a brilliant line-by-line exposition of each of its articles and amendments.
The Constitution in Congress: Descent into the Maelstrom, 1829-1861 by David P. Currie
Call Number: KF4541 .C833 2005
ISBN: 0226129160
Published/Created: 2006-01-15
This acclaimed series serves as a biography of the U.S. Constitution, offering an indispensable survey of the congressional history behind its development. In a rare examination of the role that both the legislative and executive branches have played in the development of constitutional interpretation, The Constitution in Congress shows how the actions and proceedings of these branches reveal perhaps even more about constitutional disputes than Supreme Court decisions of the time.
The Constitution in Congress: the Federalist Period, 1789-1801 by David P. Currie
Call Number: KF4541 .C834 1997
ISBN: 0226131157
Published/Created: 1999-02-15
In the most thorough examination to date, David P. Currie analyzes from a legal perspective the work of the first six congresses and of the executive branch during the Federalist era, with a view to its significance for constitutional interpretation. He concludes that the original understanding of the Constitution was forged not so much in the courts as in the legislative and executive branches, an argument of crucial importance for scholars in constitutional law, history, and government.
The Constitution in the Supreme Court by David P. Currie
Call Number: KF4550 .C87 1985
ISBN: 0226131084
Published/Created: 1995-06-29
Currie's masterful synthesis of legal analysis and narrative history, gives us a sophisticated and much-needed evaluation of the Supreme Court's first hundred years.
The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787 by Gordon S. Wood
Call Number: JA84.U5 W6
ISBN: 9780807824221
Published/Created: 1998-04-06
The Creation of the Presidency, 1775-1789 by Charles C. Thach
Call Number: JK511 .T52 2007
ISBN: 9781330817124
Published/Created: 2015-07-06
Democracy and Distrust by John H. Ely
Call Number: KF4575 .E4
ISBN: 0674196368
Published/Created: 1980-02-19
Ely criticizes the two prevailing legal approaches to the Constitution and sets forth a proposal for determining the role of the Supreme Court today based on the view that the Court should assure majority governance while protecting minority rights.
Everyman's Constitution by Howard Jay Graham
Call Number: KF4558 14th .G7
ISBN: 9780870206351
Published/Created: 2013-05-31
In 1938, Howard Jay Graham, a deaf law librarian, successfully argued that the authors of the Fourteenth Amendment--ratified after the American Civil War to establish equal protection under the law for all American citizens regardless of race--were motivated by abolitionist fervor, debunking the notion of a corporate conspiracy at the heart of the amendment's wording. For over half a century, the amendment had been used to endow corporations with rights as individuals and thus protect them from state legislation.
For the People by Akhil R. Amar; Alan Hirsch
Call Number: KF4550.Z9 A43 1998
ISBN: 0684826941
Published/Created: 1998-02-02
Certain to provoke legal debates and seize the attention of readers and commentators across the political spectrum, For the People presents a dramatically populist interpretation of the Constitution which reveals the numerous, often overlooked powers it reserves for all citizens.
Impeachment by Raoul Berger
Call Number: KF4958 .B46
ISBN: 0674444752
Published/Created: 1973-01-01
The little understood yet volcanic power of impeachment lodged in the Congress is dissected through history by the nation's leading legal scholar on the subject. Berger offers authoritative insight into high crimes and misdemeanors. He sheds new light on whether impeachment is limited to indictable crimes, on whether there is jurisdiction to impeach for misconduct outside of office, and on whether impeachment must precede indictment. In an addition to the book, Berger finds firm footing in contesting the views of one-time Judge Robert Bork and President Nixon's lawyer, James St. Clair.
Law of Federal Courts by Charles Alan Wright; Mary Kay Kane
Call Number: KF8840 .W7 1983b
ISBN: 9780314927071
Published/Created: 2011-06-15
This work offers practical guidance and comprehensive coverage of all aspects of federal court jurisdiction and litigation procedure, as well as the relationship between the state and federal courts. The text reviews the federal judicial system; judicial power of the United States; diversity of citizenship; venue; law applied in federal courts; pleadings, trials, and judgments; and appellate court and Supreme Court jurisdiction.
No State Shall Abridge by Michael Kent Curtis; Willian Van Alstyne (Introduction by)
Call Number: KF4757 .C87 1986
ISBN: 0822305992
Published/Created: 1986-05-19
Religion and the American Constitutional Experiment by John Witte; Joel A. Nichols
Call Number: KF4783 .W58 2016
ISBN: 9780190459420
Published/Created: 2016-04-13
This accessible introduction tells the American story of religious liberty from its colonial beginnings to the latest Supreme Court cases. The authors provide extensive analysis of the formation of the First Amendment religion clauses and the plausible original intent or understanding of the founders. They describe the enduring principles of American religious freedom--liberty of conscience, free exercise of religion, religious equality, religious pluralism, separation of church and state, and no establishment of religion--as those principles were developed by the founders and applied by the Supreme Court.
The Second Amendment in Law and History by Carl T. Bogus (Editor); Michael A. Bellesiles (Editor)
Call Number: KF3941 .S43 2000
ISBN: 1565846990
Published/Created: 2002-01-01
Few issues of public policy are so misunderstood, so oversimplified--and so crucially important to the health and welfare of all Americans. The gun lobby and its proponents would have us believe that the constitutional issue is moot, and that the regulation of firearms is beyond the reach of legislation. But as the contributors to this important anthology demonstrate, both the historical and constitutional arguments are very much alive--and in fact weigh heavily in favor of those who would restrict gun ownership.
To Keep and Bear Arms by Joyce L. Malcolm
Call Number: KF4558 2nd .M35 1994
ISBN: 0674893069
Published/Created: 1994-02-01
Joyce Malcolm illuminates the historical facts underlying the current passionate debate about gun-related violence, the Brady Bill, and the NRA, revealing the original meaning and intentions behind the individual right to "bear arms." few on either side of the Atlantic realize that this extraordinary, controversial, and least understood liberty was a direct legacy of English law. This book explains how the Englishmen's hazardous duty evolved into a right, and how it was transferred to America and transformed into the Second Amendment.
War and Responsibility by John Hart Ely
Call Number: KF5060 .E58 1993
ISBN: 9780691025520
Published/Created: 1995-03-26
Twenty years after the signing of the Paris Accords, the constitutional ambiguities of American involvement in the Vietnam War remain unresolved. John Hart Ely examines the overall constitutionality of America's role in Vietnam; and shows that Congress authorized each new phase of American involvement without committing itself to the stated aims of intervention.

Constitution Annotated: A Research Guide