A Hope for Americans project

The Constitution.

Read your Constitution. Know your rights.

Every word of the original, plus a plain-English version you can read anytime. A free reference, open to everyone.

Start with the Preamble I need to know my rights

Your rights

Questions people are asking right now

Tap any question to go straight to the answer.

Can police search my phone? Fourth Amendment → Do I have to answer police questions? Situation card → What are my rights at a protest? Situation card → Who is a citizen by birth? Fourteenth Amendment → Do police need a warrant to enter my home? Situation card → Can I be turned away from voting? Situation card → Can the government take my property? Fifth Amendment → Can the government limit what guns I own? Second Amendment →

Situation cards

What to say when it matters

Plain-language guides for specific moments when your rights are at stake.

At a protest

What you can say and do if you are stopped, questioned, or threatened with arrest at a protest.

Being questioned by police

What you can say and do if police are asking you questions, whether on the street, in a car, or at a station.

Searched by police

What you can say and do if a police officer wants to search you, your bag, your car, or your home.

Turned away from voting

What to do if a poll worker says you cannot vote, your name is not on the list, or you do not have the right ID.

The Bill of Rights and all 27 amendments

Amendments

Changes to the Constitution since it was written. The first ten are the Bill of Rights.

Bill of Rights, 1791

1 FirstSpeech, religion, press, assembly 2 SecondRight to bear arms 3 ThirdQuartering soldiers 4 FourthSearch and seizure 5 FifthDue process, self-incrimination 6 SixthRight to a fair trial 7 SeventhTrial by jury in civil cases 8 EighthCruel and unusual punishment 9 NinthRights kept by the people 10 TenthPowers kept by the states

Later amendments, 1795 to 1992

11 EleventhLimits on suing states 12 TwelfthElecting the president 13 ThirteenthAbolition of slavery 14 FourteenthCitizenship, equal protection 15 FifteenthRight to vote by race 16 SixteenthIncome tax 17 SeventeenthElecting senators directly 18 EighteenthProhibition of alcohol 19 NineteenthRight to vote by sex 20 TwentiethPresidential terms and succession 21 Twenty-firstRepeal of Prohibition 22 Twenty-secondPresidential term limits 23 Twenty-thirdD.C. electoral votes 24 Twenty-fourthAbolition of poll taxes 25 Twenty-fifthPresidential disability 26 Twenty-sixthVoting age lowered to 18 27 Twenty-seventhCongressional pay changes

The original Constitution

Articles

The seven sections ratified in 1788. Start with the Preamble, the one-paragraph mission statement.

Article I Congress Article II The president Article III The courts Article IV The states Article V How to amend the Constitution Article VI The Constitution as supreme law Article VII How the Constitution was approved

Founding document

The Declaration of Independence

Not part of the Constitution. The statement that explains why the country exists, written 11 years before the Constitution.

Read the Declaration