A Companion to the United States Constitution and Its Amendments is designed to show students just how revolutionary the Constitution was-and how relevant it remains today. It begins by revisiting the key events leading to the Constitution's ratification, including the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, then goes article by article, amendment by amendment, to describe each section of the document, as well as the important court cases that add to its meaning.

Preface to the Fifth Edition
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: The Background and Purposes of the Constitution
Chapter 2: Article I: The Legislative Branch
Chapter 3: Article II:The Executive Branch
Chapter 4: Article III: The Judicial Branch
Chapter 5: Article IV: The Federal System
Chapter 6: Articles V-VII: The Amending Provision and Miscellaneous Matters
Chapter 7: The Bill of Rights
Chapter 8: The Bill of Rights: Of Arms and Men-Amendments 2-3
Chapter 9: The Bill of Rights and the Rights of the Accused and the Convicted-Amendments 4-8
Chapter 10: The Bill of Rights, the Rights of the States
Chapter 11: The Post-Civil War Amendments-Amendments 13-15
Chapter 12: The Progressive Era Amendments-Amendments 16-19
Chapter 13: The Recent Amendments-Amendments 20-27
Reading Supreme Court Decisions
Glossary
Highlights of Constitutional History
U.S. Supreme Court Justices
Appendix 1: The Constitution of the United States
Appendix 2: The Declaration of Independence
Appendix 3: The Articles of Confederation
Index
 
 

John R. Vile is professor of political science and dean of the University Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University at Murfreesboro. He is the author and coeditor of numerous books, including Encyclopedia of the First Amendment as well as Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-1995; The Constitutional Convention of 1787; Great American Lawyers; Great American Judges, and Essential Supreme Court Decisions among others.