The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation ("Constitution Annotated" or "CONAN") provides a legal analysis and interpretation of the United States Constitution based on a comprehensive review of Supreme Court case law and, where relevant, historical practices that have defined the text of the Constitution. This regularly updated resource is written in "plain English" and useful for a wide audience: from constitutional scholars to those just beginning to learn about the nation's most important legal document.

On July 24, 1787, the Federal Convention appointed a five-man Committee of Detail, chaired by John Rutledge of South Carolina, to prepare a draft constitution that encompassed the results of deliberations up to that point.

During the Constitutional Convention, the Committee of Style was appointed "to revise the style of, and arrange, the articles which have been agreed to by the House." On September 12, 1787, the Convention ordered copies printed and distributed to the delegates. This copy belonged to James Madison.

This online exhibition offers insights into how the nation’s founding documents were forged and the role that imagination and vision played in the unprecedented creative act of forming a self–governing country. The exhibition contains a section on creating the United States Constitution.

This exhibition commemorates the 800th anniversary of the creation of Magna Carta, the charter of liberties that England’s King John granted to his barons in 1215 in order to halt their rebellion and restore their allegiance to his throne. The exhibition contains a section on the Magna Carta and the U.S. Constitution.

Ratified in 1865, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States.

Ratified in 1868, the 14th Amendment granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States."

Ratified in 1870, the 15th Amendment granted African American men the right to vote.

Ratified on January 16, 1919, the 18th Amendment prohibited the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors".

Ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granted women the right to vote.

The Federalist Papers were a series of eighty-five essays urging the citizens of New York to ratify the new United States Constitution. Written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, the essays originally appeared anonymously in New York newspapers in 1787 and 1788 under the pen name "Publius." The Federalist Papers are considered one of the most important sources for interpreting and understanding the original intent of the Constitution.

A research guide by the Law Library of Congress containing sources regarding the creation and ratification of the United States Constitution.

This timeline discusses the Constitutional Convention and links to related documents.

In celebration of Constitution Day, the Library of Congress has compiled a variety of materials from across its collections related to the U.S. Constitution.

This Primary Source Set includes images, documents, maps, sound files and analysis tools to help teach about the United States Constitution.

Members of the Constitutional Convention signed the final draft of the Constitution on September 17, 1787.

Known as the Federalist Papers, the first in a series of eighty-five essays by "Publius," the pen name of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, appeared in the New York Independent Journal on October 27, 1787.

On December 12, 1787, delegates to the Pennsylvania ratifying convention meeting at the Pennsylvania State House voted to ratify the Constitution.

The New Jersey ratifying caucus approved the Constitution on December 18, 1787.

On January 9, 1788, Connecticut ratified the Constitution, becoming the fifth state in the Union.

On July 26, 1788, the Convention of the State of New York, meeting in Poughkeepsie, voted to ratify the Constitution.

The new United States of America adopted the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, confirming the fundamental rights of its citizens on December 15, 1791.

For the Library's annual Constitution Day lecture, Akhil Reed Amar discussed Magna Carta and its historical connection to the U.S. Constitution.

In commemoration of Constitution Day, constitutional law and history professor Michael J. Klarman of Harvard Law School discussed his book, a comprehensive history of how the framers drafted and ratified the U.S. Constitution despite their clashing interests.

Award-winning author and journalist Linda R. Monk discussed her book, The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution (Hyperion, 2003), at the Library of Congress on April 14, 2003.