Making The Us Constitution Your Go-To Reference

The U.S. Constitution is a crucial document in the history of the United States, outlining the country's fundamental laws and principles. When referencing the U.S. Constitution in an academic context, such as in an APA-style paper, specific formatting guidelines must be followed. While a passing reference to the U.S. Constitution as a whole can be made without a formal citation, citing specific provisions requires a structured format. This involves using Bluebook Rule 11, which covers federal and state constitutions, and includes abbreviations and Roman numerals for articles, amendments, sections, and clauses.

Explore related products

U.S. Constitution: a QuickStudy Laminated Reference Guide

$6.46

Study Guide: Constitution of United States of America by Constitutional Convention (SuperSummary)

$8.95 $8.95

The Penguin Guide to the United States Constitution: A Fully Annotated Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Amendments, and Selections from The Federalist Papers

$12.89 $15

The Constitution of the United States of America - Expanded Edition: An In-Depth Reference Guide Offering Detailed Insights into the U.S. ... of Independence, and the Bill of Rights

$14.97

The Constitution of the United States of America: The Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights

$9.99 $9.99

The Constitution of the United States of America, Extended Edition: A Complete Reference Guide with Detailed Explanations of the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights

$29.99 $19.99

Citing the U.S. Constitution as a whole

APA Style

When using APA style, you can simply mention the U.S. Constitution in your paper without including a citation in the references list. However, if you are citing a specific part of the Constitution, you should use Bluebook Rule 11, which covers federal and state constitutions. All citations of the U.S. Constitution in APA style begin with "U.S. Const.," followed by the relevant article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers. The terms "article," "amendment," "section," and "clause" are abbreviated as "art.," "amend.," "§," and "cl.," respectively. Article and amendment numbers are given in Roman numerals (I, II, III), while section and clause numbers are given in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3). For example, "U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933)." If you are referring to a part of the Constitution that has been repealed or amended, include the year in parentheses.

Chicago Style

When using Chicago style, the recommendation is to limit legal citations to the text itself, using the narrative to include information that would typically go in the footnotes. Chicago style requires only footnote citations for legal documents, and these documents do not need to be listed in the bibliography.

Other Style Guides

If you are using a style guide that does not specifically address how to cite the U.S. Constitution, you can create a generic reference using the Publication Manual. The manual lists certain elements that should be included in a generic reference, such as the author, date, title, and source.

Citing a specific part of the Constitution

When citing a specific part of the U.S. Constitution, you should use Bluebook Rule 11, which covers federal and state constitutions. All citations of the U.S. Constitution should begin with "U.S. Const.", followed by the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers as relevant. The terms article, amendment, section, and clause are abbreviated to "art.", "amend.", "§", and "cl.", respectively. Preamble is abbreviated to "pmbl.".

Article and amendment numbers are written using Roman numerals (I, II, III), while section and clause numbers use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3). For example, "U.S. Const. amend. XVIII, § 2" refers to Amendment XVIII, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution.

If the part of the Constitution you are citing has been repealed or amended, include the year in parentheses, for example, "U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933)".

For Chicago style, when using only a few legal citations, it is recommended to limit them to the text itself, incorporating information that would typically go in the footnotes into the narrative. However, when using multiple legal documents, supplement the in-text citations with footnotes. In Chicago style, legal documents are only cited in footnotes, not in the bibliography.

The Bluebook is a resource that sets the standard for all legal citations and is recommended for further guidance on legal citations not covered in this answer.

Using Bluebook Rule 11

The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is an authoritative guide on legal citation formats, relied upon by law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals. It contains rules that prescribe how to cite a variety of legal documents, including the U.S. Constitution and state constitutions (Rule 11).

Rule 11 of The Bluebook outlines the format for citing the U.S. Constitution and state constitutions. A citation to a constitution includes three elements: the abbreviation "U.S." or the state abbreviation (as provided in Table 10), followed by "Const." (the Bluebook's abbreviation for "Constitution"), and finally, the specific constitutional provision.

For example, to cite the provision of the U.S. Constitution stating that each state shall have two senators, the correct format is: "U.S. Const. art. I, § 3, cl. 1". Here, "art." refers to Article I, "§" denotes Section 3, and "cl." signifies Clause 1.

Similarly, for state constitutions, the format is: " [State Abbreviation] Const. [Article], [Section], [Clause/Part]". For instance, "LA. CONST. art. X, pt. IV" refers to Article X, Part IV of the Louisiana Constitution.

It is important to note that The Bluebook specifies distinct formatting for the U.S. Constitution and state constitutions in textual sentences. When referencing the U.S. Constitution in a sentence, the subdivisions ("Article", "Section", etc.) and names are capitalized and presented in regular typeface. On the other hand, when citing state constitutions in sentences, these subdivisions and names are not capitalized and are also presented in regular typeface.

Additionally, The Bluebook provides guidance on the use of small caps typeface for certain abbreviations. For example, when citing federal regulations, it is appropriate to use small caps for the abbreviation "C.F.R." (Code of Federal Regulations). Small caps can be found in the Font menu in Microsoft Word, or you may need to manually adjust the font size for certain letters if your word processing program does not have this feature.

The Bluebook also offers guidance on citing administrative rules and regulations, session laws, and other legal materials. It is a comprehensive resource for ensuring accurate and consistent legal citations in academic and professional contexts.

Explore related products

The Heritage Guide to the Constitution: Fully Revised Third Edition

$35.98 $59.99

The Nebraska State Constitution: A Reference Guide, Second Edition

$35 $60

The Constitution of the United States and The Declaration of Independence

$1.99 $6.95

Mark Twain Understanding the US Constitution Workbook, American History Books Covering Articles, Amendments, Three Branches of Government, and More, Classroom or Homeschool Curriculum

$12.07 $12.99

The Right to the Assistance of Counsel: A Reference Guide to the United States Constitution (Reference Guides to the United States Constitution) (Reference Guides to the United States Constitution, 1)

$59.9 $95

Constitutional Law: a QuickStudy Laminated Reference Guide

$8.32 $8.95

Referencing an amended provision

If you are referencing the US Constitution as a whole, you do not need to include a citation in the reference list. However, if you are citing a specific part of the Constitution, you should use the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers. The format is as follows:

> U.S. Const. amend. [use Roman numerals: I, II, III], § [section number in Arabic numerals: 1, 2, 3]

For example, if you were referencing the Eighteenth Amendment, which established prohibition, the citation would look like this:

> U.S. Const. amend. XVIII, § 1

If you are referring to a part of the Constitution that has been amended or repealed, you should include the year of the amendment or repeal in parentheses. For example:

> U.S. Const. amend. XVIII, repealed 1933

It is worth noting that none of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by a constitutional convention. Instead, amendments are proposed by Congress, with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The process of amending the Constitution is outlined in Article V of the Constitution.

Creating a generic reference

The Bluebook is the standard reference for legal citations and should be consulted for further guidance on legal citations. According to the Bluebook Rule 11, which covers federal and state constitutions, all citations of specific parts of the U.S. Constitution should begin with "U.S. Const." followed by the relevant article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers. The terms "article," "amendment," "section," and "clause" have specific abbreviations: "art.," "amend.," "§," and "cl.," respectively. It is important to note that article and amendment numbers are denoted by Roman numerals (I, II, III), while section and clause numbers use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3). For example, "U.S. Const. art. I, § 3" or "U.S. Const. amend. XVIII."

If you are referring to a part of the Constitution that has been repealed or amended, include the year in parentheses, such as "U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933)." Additionally, when citing state constitutions, use the abbreviated name of the state, such as "N.C. Const." or "Ariz. Const.".

In the case of not finding specific guidelines from APA, a generic reference can be created. The Publication Manual outlines the elements to be included in a generic reference:

• Author or Editor: Identify the person or organization responsible for the work. If there is no author or editor, follow the guidelines for references without an author.
• Date: Specify the year of publication, and if necessary, include the month and day (Year, Month Day). If no date is available, use "n.d." to indicate "no date."
• Title: Provide the title of the work being referenced. If there is no title, create one and enclose it in square brackets [ ]. You can also add format clarification within the brackets after the title.
• Source: Indicate where the work can be retrieved, such as a book, website (with URL), journal, or publication information.

Frequently asked questions