United States Constitution · Amendments · Bill of Rights · Complete Text + Audio
3,169,936
Published 2016-08-14
► INTRODUCTION
The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government. Its first three articles entrench the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress; the executive, consisting of the President; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Articles Four, Five and Six entrench concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments and of the states in relationship to the federal government. Article Seven establishes the procedure subsequently used by the thirteen States to ratify it.
Since the Constitution came into force in 1789, it has been amended twenty-seven times. In general, the first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, offer specific protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers of government. The majority of the seventeen later amendments expand individual civil rights protections. Others address issues related to federal authority or modify government processes and procedures. Amendments to the United States Constitution, unlike ones made to many constitutions world-wide, are appended to the end of the document. At seven articles and twenty-seven amendments, it is the shortest written constitution in force. All five pages of the original U.S. Constitution are written on parchment.
The Constitution is interpreted, supplemented, and implemented by a large body of constitutional law. The Constitution of the United States is the first constitution of its kind, adopted by the people's representatives for an expansive nation; and it has influenced the constitutions of other nations.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution
► INDEX
(Click on time to jump to section)
01. Pmbl. 00:11
02. Art. I 00:49
03. Art. I § 1 00:56
04. Art. I § 2 01:16
05. Art. I § 3 04:06
06. Art. I § 4 07:08
07. Art. I § 5 07:53
08. Art. I § 6 09:24
09. Art. I § 7 10:41
10. Art. I § 8 13:15
11. Art. I § 9 17:10
12. Art. I § 10 19:26
13. Art. II 21:03
14. Art. II § 1 21:10
15. Art. II § 2 26:26
16. Art. II § 3 28:21
17. Art. II § 4 29:15
18. Art. III 29:39
19. Art. III § 1 29:46
20. Art. III § 2 30:27
21. Art. III § 3 32:24
22. Art. IV 33:10
23. Art. IV § 1 33:17
24. Art. IV § 2 33:47
25. Art. IV § 3 34:49
26. Art. IV § 4 35:47
27. Art. V 36:17
28. Art. VI 37:35
29. Art. VII 39:02
31. Amend. 1 39:34
32. Amend. 2 40:03
33. Amend. 3 40:24
34. Amend. 4 40:48
35. Amend. 5 41:22
36. Amend. 6 42:13
37. Amend. 7 42:57
38. Amend. 8 43:26
39. Amend. 9 43:47
40. Amend. 10 44:07
41. Amend. 11 44:30
42. Amend. 12 44:58
43. Amend. 13 47:28
44. Amend. 14 48:08
45. Amend. 15 51:25
46. Amend. 16 52:02
47. Amend. 17 52:27
48. Amend. 18 53:31
49. Amend. 19 54:41
50. Amend. 20 55:08
51. Amend. 21 57:54
52. Amend. 22 58:58
53. Amend. 23 01:00:10
54. Amend. 24 01:01:12
55. Amend. 25 01:01:58
56. Amend. 26 01:04:46
57. Amend. 27 01:05:23
58. Credits 01:05:56
► TRANSLATION
Translations to multiple languages are available as YouTube captions. They are far from perfect, but they can be useful in some situations.
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Have you found this video helpful? Any comment or suggestion is welcome!
Articles voice-over from voanews.com (public domain).
Amendments voice-over by Michael Scherer, from librivox.org (public domain).
All Comments (21)
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we need to start thinking of government officials as our employees instead of big powerful people. WE THE PEOPLE
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yet WE THE PEOPLE refuse to stand and defend what is being destroyed! SHAME ON US!
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I am 35 years old and this is the first time since i became an adult that I willingly wanted to learn this, I downloaded an app and read along while it played. I will study this whenever I need to. These laws shall not be infringed. We the People have the RIGHTS to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness! God is Good. Amen.
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I am a Army Vet and I totally agree with the comment " This should be taught in it's entirety and explained to the meaning of every word in a easy to understand way!!! "!!
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We need to REMIND AND. REFRESH the congress of the BILL OF RIGHTS. They took an oath!
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I have been screaming about this FOREVER! Our citizens don’t have a clue what their laws are. It’s pathetic. 🤦🏻♂️
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Let us not forget that the Constitution derives its power not from a king or congress but from the people. We The People 🇺🇲
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This was definitely taught at the public school I went to. In fact the teacher I had took a lot of pride for his infamous test on the Constitution. Students would dread being in his class knowing that it was coming. He took the study and it's contents very seriously and so did a few of us. I didn't realize how fortunate I was to be a part of that until I read through these comments...
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The CONSTITUTION is BEYOND IMPORTANT
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Send member of Congress back to school and learn When Impeachment to the President is legal, they do not understand the process.
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I actually started to cry with how much power and wisdom there is in the bill of rights.
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Thank you for adding this. Such a beautifully written document. I am saddened as our forefathers would be sickened by what is happening today. Things wouldn't be what they are today!
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I have to teach this to my kids since schools don't do a good job.
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A copy needs to be sent to Congress and Senate for them to read
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There is a reason why we have a generation who were purposely never taught to write or read cursive writing. Thank you for doing this🇺🇸
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Currently vibing to this on the bus with the boys. This is some straight fire. The legal document genre really needs to come back.
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I'm just gonna forward this to DC.....
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"will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States"
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Every time I read or listen to our Constitution it amazes me that anybody, or group of people could write something so inspiring, so eternal, so magnificent. Could people today be so, creatively understanding of government. Our founding fathers do not get enough credit. God bless our Republic 🙏🇺🇸🙏
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I graduated from high school in 1964 in Jacksonville, Florida and as a sophomore I had to memorize the preamble of the Constitution; and as juniors and seniors we studied several sections of the Constitution in Civics classes. I recently saw a man-on-the-street interview of young adults and some of them had no idea what the Constitution is.
