TIME The Constitution

Your essential guide to understanding the Constitution


The message and meaning of the Constitution have been debated continuously since the day it was signed, though rarely in its 226-year history has the debate reached such a fever-pitch, nor has it held such wide-ranging ramifications for so many Americans. There are those who believe in an almost literal interpretation of the Constitution and that the Federal Government should be held within its confines and then there are those who believe that it has elasticity and that the framers meant for it to grow as the nation did. With issues including gun control, same-sex marriage, limits on abortion, immigration and many more at the fore coupled with one of the most consequential presidential elections in our history, the Constitution and its future have never been more relevant.


Now, the editors of TIME bring the founding document to life in The Constitution: The Essential User’s Guide, a probing and accessible book that illustrates how it was written in the spirit of change, revolution and turbulence. With contributions from some of the top legal and political minds of today, and the full text of the 8,000-word document annotated to show its most controversial passages and little-known quirks, TIME’s compact volume will be an indispensable guide to understanding the framework of our nation for well-informed citizen.