A companion to the United States Constitution and its amendments

Now in its sixth edition with coverage of major Supreme Court decisions through the end of the 2013-2014 term, this book remains a key source for students, professors, and citizens seeking balanced, up-to-date information on the Constitution, its amendments, and how they have been interpreted.

A document that is well past two centuries old, the U.S. Constitution remains as relevant and important today as during the time of our country's founding. Now in its sixth edition, this single-volume work offers a fair, non-partisan treatment of one of the most important documents in American history. The book begins with introductory background information on the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and then presents a clause-by-clause explanation of the Constitution from the preamble through all of its amendments, addressing how each has been interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court and other institutions throughout U.S. history.

This fully updated edition of A Companion to the United States Constitution and Its Amendments incorporates numerous new developments in the four years since the previous edition, including the appointments of new Supreme Court justices, impactful cases involving First Amendment rights for students, the Affordable Care Act, National Security Agency (NSA) data gathering, voting rights, campaign finance law, DNA sampling, and the ongoing battle over gay rights. As with the previous editions, John R. Vile provides a balanced and thorough treatment that identifies key Supreme Court decisions and other interpretations of the document while abstaining from unnecessarily complex and confusing explanations.

• Preface to the Sixth Edition p. xiii
• Acknowledgments p. xv
• Chapter 1 The Background and Purposes of the Constitution p. 1
• The Colonial Setting
• The Declaration of Independence
• The Background of the Declaration
• The Purpose, of the Document
• The Idea of Equality of Human Rights
• The Purpose of Government
• The Right of Revolution
• Charges against the English King
• Indictments against the King and the Parliament
• War Atrocities and Slavery
• Recapitulation of Earlier Petitions
• Conclusion
• The Articles of Confederation
• The Background
• The Principles and Structures
• The Achievements and Problems
• Prelude to the Constitutional Convention
• The Constitutional Convention
• The Delegates
• The Rules
• The Virginia Plan
• The New Jersey Plan
• Prominent Convention Issues and Compromises
• Ratification of the Constitution
• The Preamble
• The Purposes of the Constitution
• Summary
• References and Suggestions for Further Study
• Chapter 2 Article I: The Legislative Branch p. 23
• The Outline of the Constitution and Separation of Powers
• The Priority of the Legislative Branch
• Bicameralism
• The U.S. House of Representatives
• Terms of Office and Qualifications for Voters
• Qualifications for the House
• Representation and Taxation
• The Three-Fifths Clause
• Initial State Representation
• House Vacancies
• The Speaker of the House
• The Power of Impeachment
• The U.S. Senate
• Representation, Voting, and Terms
• Staggered Senate Terms and Vacancies
• Qualifications for the Senate
• The Legislative Role of the Vice President
• Other Senate Officers
• Trials of Impeachment
• The Consequences of Impeachment
• Other Matters Involving Congressional Operations
• Elections for Congress
• Housekeeping Provisions
• Congressional Compensation
• Congressional Privilege
• The Emoluments Clause
• Article I, Section 7-Procedures for Passing Laws
• The Origination Clause
• Procedures for Lawmaking and Presidential Vetoes
• The Presentment Clause
• Article I, Section 8-Powers Granted to Congress
• The Power of the Purse
• Power to Regulate Commerce
• A Note on Native Americans
• Power over Naturalization and Bankruptcies
• Coining Money and Establishing Uniform Standards
• Establishing a Post Office and Promoting Scientific Advances
• Establishing Lower Courts
• War Powers
• Calling the Militia
• Governing the District of Columbia
• Implied Powers
• Congressional Investigations
• Article I, Section 9-Limits on Congressional Powers
• Slave Importation
• The Suspension Clause and the Writ of Habeas Corpus
• Bills of Attainder and Ex Post Facto Laws
• Economic Protections for the States
• The Appropriation of Money
• Titles of Nobility
• Article I, Section 10-Limits on the States
• Powers Reserved to the National Government
• The Contract Clause
• Other Economic Limits on the States
• Summary
• References and Suggestions for Further Study
• Chapter 3 Article II: The Executive Branch p. 59
• A Single Executive
• The Presidential Term
• Presidential Selection and the Electoral College
• Presidential Qualifications
• The Vice President and Presidential Disability
• The Presidential Salary
• The Presidential Oath
• Presidential Duties
• Commander in Chief
• Getting Advice from the Cabinet
• Power to Pardon and Reprieve
• Negotiation and Ratification of Treaties
• Presidential Appointment and Removal Powers
• Recess Appointments Clause
• The State of the Union Address
• Power to Convene and Adjourn Congress
• The President as Chief Diplomat
• Power to Execute the Laws and Executive Privilege
• Commissioning of Military Officers
• Presidential Impeachment
• Summary
• References and Suggestions for Further Study
• Chapter 4 Article III: The Judicial Branch p. 79
• Organization and Guidelines
• The U.S. Supreme Court and Other Inferior Courts
• Judicial Tenure
• Judicial Qualifications
• Judicial Compensation
• The Number of Justices
• Supreme Court Decisions
• Jurisdiction
• Cases Based on Subject Matter and Parties to the Suit
• Cases of Original and Appellate Jurisdiction
• Limits on the Judicial Branch
• The Political Questions Doctrine
• Judicial Powers
• Statutory Interpretation and Judicial Review
• Marbury v. Madison
• Judicial Review in Practice
• The Exceptions Clause
• Protections
• Trial by Jury
• Treason
• The Nature of Article III
• Summary
• References and Suggestions for Further Study
• Chapter 5 Article IV: The Federal System p. 95
• Three Forms of Government
• Layer Cake or Marble Cake?
• Obligations of States to One Another
• The Full Faith and Credit Clause
• The Privileges and Immunities Clause
• Extradition
• The Fugitive Slave Clause
• The Admission of New States
• Governing the Territories
• Obligations of the Nation to the States
• The Guarantee Clause
• Rejected Doctrines of Federalism
• Interposition
• Nullification
• Secession
• The Status of Local Governments
• Summary
• References and Suggestions for Further Study
• Chapter 6 Articles V-VII: The Amending Provision and Miscellaneous Matters p. 107
• Amending Procedures
• The Most Common Route for Proposal and Ratification
• The Unused Convention Mechanism
• Rescissions and Time Limits
• Is the Amending Process Exclusive?
• Unamendable Provisions
• The History of Amendments in the United States
• Article VI
• The Continuing Validity of Debts
• The Supremacy Clause
• Oaths of Office and Prohibition of Religious Tests
• Article VII
• Ratification of the Constitution
• The Attestation Clause
• Summary
• References and Suggestions for Further Study
• Chapter 7 The Bill of Rights-The First Amendment p. 119
• Background
• Application of the Bill of Rights
• The Bill of Rights: A Floor or a Ceiling?
• The Idea of Rights
• The Placement of the First Amendment
• The Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses
• The Three-Part Lemon Test and the Wall of Separation
• Application of the Establishment Clause
• To Schools
• In Other Contexts
• The Free Exercise Clause and the Belief/Practice Dichotomy
• Application of the Free Exercise Clause
• Justifications for Freedom of Speech
• Tests for Subversive Speech
• Subsidiary Principles
• Obscenity
• Symbolic Speech
• Fighting Words and True Threats
• Libel
• Commercial Speech
• Campaign Contributions
• Freedom of the Press and Prior Restraint
• Other Issues
• Assembly and Petition
• Summary
• References and Suggestions for Further Study
• Chapter 8 The Bill of Rights: Of Arms and Men-Amendments 2-3 p. 145
• The Right to Bear Arms
• The Prohibition against Quartering Troops
• Summary
• References and Suggestions for Further Study
• Chapter 9 The Bill of rights and the Rights of the Accused and the Convicted-Amendments 4-8 p. 149
• Searches and Seizures
• An Amendment in Two Parts
• The Reasonableness Requirement
• Warrant Requirements
• Administrative Searches
• The Exclusionary Rule
• Indictment by Grand Jury
• The Double Jeopardy Provision
• Protection against Self-incrimination
• Real Evidence versus Testimonial Evidence
• The Due Process Clause
• The Takings Clause
• Speedy and Public Trials
• Right to a Petit Jury
• The Rights of Notification, Confrontation, and Compulsory Process
• The Right to Counsel
• Petit Juries in Common Law Cases
• The Eighth Amendment
• Bail and Fines
• Capital Punishment
• Recidivism Laws and Proportionality Concerns
• Summary
• References and Suggestions for Further Study
• Chapter 10 The Bill of Rights, the Rights of the States (Amendments 9-10), and Amendments 11 and 12 p. 171
• The Ninth Amendment and the Right to Privacy
• Two Prominent Views of the Amendment
• Birth Control and Abortion
• Other Privacy Issues
• The Tenth Amendment and States' Rights
• The Eleventh Amendment and Suits against the State
• The Twelfth Amendment and the Electoral College
• Postscript to the Election of 2000
• Summary
• References and Suggestions for Further Study
• Chapter 11 The Post-Civil War Amendments-Amendments 13-15 p. 185
• Background
• The Thirteenth Amendment and the End of Slavery
• Citizenship Provisions of the Fourteenth
• Amendment
• Three Important Guarantees
• Supreme Court Decisions Limiting the Impact of the Fourteenth Amendment
• Brown and the Rebirth of the Fourteenth Amendment
• School Busing and Affirmative Action Programs
• Equal Protection and Gender-Based Classifications
• Equal Protection and Other Classifications
• Equal Protection and Legislative Apportionment
• A Rebirth of the Due Process Clause?
• Reversing the Three-Fifths Clause
• Restrictions on Former Rebels
• Valid and Invalid Public Debts
• Enforcement of the Fourteenth Amendment
• The Fifteenth Amendment
• The Lesson of the Postwar Amendments
• Summary
• References and Suggestions for Further Study
• Chapter 12 The Progressive Era Amendments-Amendments 16-19 p. 205
• The Sixteenth Amendment and the National Income Tax
• The Seventeenth Amendment and the Election of U.S. Senators
• The Eighteenth Amendment and the National Prohibition of Alcohol
• The Nineteenth Amendment and Women's Suffrage
• Summary
• References and Suggestions for Further Study
• Chapter 13 The Recent Amendments-Amendments 20-27 p. 213
• The Lame-Duck Amendment
• Presidential Vacancies
• The Repeal of National Alcohol Prohibition
• A Limit on Presidential Terms of Office
• Electoral Votes for the District of Columbia
• The Prohibition of Poll Taxes
• Vacancies and Disabilities
• Vacancies in the Vice Presidency
• Cases of Presidential Disability
• Eighteen-Year-Olds and the Right to Vote
• The Twenty-Seventh Amendment Author's Postscript on the American Future
• Summary
• References and Suggestions for Further Study
• Reading Supreme Court Decisions p. 227
• Locating Cases and Understanding Citations
• Briefing Cases
• Fifty Case Names and Decisions
• Glossary p. 235
• Highlights of Constitutional History p. 253
• U.S. Supreme Court Justices p. 265
• Appendix 1 The Constitution of the United States p. 269
• Appendix 2 The Declaration of Independence p. 287
• Appendix 3 The Articles of Confederation p. 291
• Index p. 299