Constitution
Nation's governing charter
The Constitution is the supreme law of a nation, especially the United States Constitution, ratified in 1788 and establishing the framework of federal government.
References to "the Constitution" in American discourse almost always mean this document: The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees free speech, Is that constitutional?
The word also names specific ships, most famously USS Constitution, the 18th-century frigate known as "Old Ironsides." (Lowercase constitution refers to physical makeup or general founding documents.)
Change to official text
- preamblePreliminary statement before content
- ratificationFormal approval by authority
- Bill of RightsInitial constitutional amendments guaranteeing freedoms
- federalismDivided governmental authority system
separation of powers · checks and balances · articles · framers · founding fathers · judicial review · supremacy clause · due process
Medium-sized naval warship
- warshipArmed naval vessel
- navalOf maritime warfare
- Boston HarborNew England port waterway
- War of 1812Early American-British military conflict
hull · rigging · mast · deck · cannon · sailing · crew · Old Ironsides
amendment
Change to official text
- preamblePreliminary statement before content
- ratificationFormal approval by authority
- Bill of RightsInitial constitutional amendments guaranteeing freedoms
federalism · separation of powers · checks and balances · articles · framers · founding fathers · judicial review · supremacy clause · due process · equal protection
frigate
Medium-sized naval warship
- warshipArmed naval vessel
- navalOf maritime warfare
- Boston HarborNew England port waterway
War of 1812 · hull · rigging · mast · deck · cannon · sailing · crew · Old Ironsides
- US Governmentexecutive branch, legislative branch, judicial branch, Congress, House
- constitutional lawBill of Rights, First Amendment, Second Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment
- Founding FathersGeorge Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton
- Historic DocumentsDeclaration of Independence, Magna Carta, Bill of Rights, Mayflower Compact, Federalist Papers
- legal historylegal history, medieval law, Roman law, Roman jurisprudence, common law
- MasterpiecesMona Lisa, Last Supper, Starry Night, The Scream, David
Constitutionautocratic rule
Governance by unchecked authority
tyranny · despotism · lawlessness · statute · decree
Constitutionanarchy
Disorder from absent authority
tyranny · despotism · dictatorship · absolutism · autocracy
Constitutiondissolution
Breaking up completely
abolition · dismantlement · destruction · abrogation · dismantling
- constitutional rightsLegally protected individual freedoms
- U.S. ConstitutionSupreme law of America
- constitutional changesModifications to founding law
- constitutional amendmentsFormal changes to governing document
- US ConstitutionAmerica's supreme legal framework
- United States ConstitutionAmerica's foundational legal framework
constitutional, constituting, unconstitutional, reconstitution, constitutive, constitutionally, constitutionality