Federal Desk Book

Federal Desk Book
The Constitution, clause by clause, explained

The text of the United States Constitution, with a full explanation of each provision: where it came from, what it was meant to do, and how the Supreme Court has read it.

Begin with the Preamble → See every page

Introduction

Federal Desk Book is a reading library of the basic texts of American federal law. It starts with the Constitution. Every Article, Section, Clause and Amendment has its own page. The words of the Constitution appear first, in a shaded box, and the explanation follows below.

The explanation comes from The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation, usually called the Constitution Annotated. Congress has had it prepared since 1913. The Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress writes it, and the Government Publishing Office prints it as a Senate Document. This site follows the 2022 edition (Senate Document 117-12), which covers Supreme Court cases decided through June 30, 2022. Its 1,267 essays and 18,926 footnotes are all here, spread over 245 pages.

How to read a page

Getting around

The bar at the top of every page shows where you are. Its first row lists the Articles and Amendments, the next rows list the Sections and Clauses of the one you are reading, and the longest subjects (such as freedom of speech) add rows for their topics and parts. Previous and Next links at the top and bottom of each page let you read straight through, and the full list of pages is below.

Coming to this site

The federal rules of court with their Advisory Committee Notes (Evidence, Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Appellate Procedure, Bankruptcy Procedure and the habeas corpus rules), and the founding documents, starting with the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.

Contents: the Constitution

Every page of the Constitution, in order. The headings open each Article or Amendment; the entries below them are its Sections, Clauses and topic pages.

Introduction

The Preamble

Article I — Legislative Branch

Article II — Executive Branch

Article III — Judicial Branch

Article IV — Relationships Between the States

Article V — Amending the Constitution

Article VI — Supreme Law

Article VII — Ratification

First Amendment — Fundamental Freedoms

Second Amendment — Right to Bear Arms

Third Amendment — Quartering Soldiers

Fourth Amendment — Searches and Seizures

Fifth Amendment — Rights of Persons

Sixth Amendment — Rights in Criminal Prosecutions

Seventh Amendment — Civil Trial Rights

Eighth Amendment — Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Ninth Amendment — Unenumerated Rights

Tenth Amendment — Rights Reserved to the States and the People

Eleventh Amendment — Suits Against States

Twelfth Amendment — Election of President

Thirteenth Amendment — Abolition of Slavery

Fourteenth Amendment — Equal Protection and Other Rights

Fifteenth Amendment — Right of Citizens to Vote

Sixteenth Amendment — Income Tax

Seventeenth Amendment — Popular Election of Senators

Eighteenth Amendment — Prohibition of Liquor

Nineteenth Amendment — Women’s Suffrage

Twentieth Amendment — Presidential Term and Succession

Twenty-First Amendment — Repeal of Prohibition

Twenty-Second Amendment — Presidential Term Limits

Twenty-Third Amendment — District of Columbia Electors

Twenty-Fourth Amendment — Abolition of Poll Tax

Twenty-Fifth Amendment — Presidential Vacancy

Twenty-Sixth Amendment — Reduction of Voting Age

Twenty-Seventh Amendment — Congressional Compensation