Omar Bennett
When citing the US Constitution, the date is usually placed at the end of the citation. The Bluebook, which sets the standard for all legal citations, states that for parts of the Constitution currently in force, a date is not included. However, if you are referring to a part of the Constitution that has been repealed or amended, include the year that the part in question was repealed or amended in parentheses. The date format is crucial and depends on the citation style. For example, in APA style, the date format is year, month, day. This guide aims to provide an answer to the question, where do you put the year in a constitution citation?
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Style | MLA, APA, Bluebook |
| Constitution | "U.S." or the abbreviated name of the state |
| Article | Abbreviation: "art." or "Art." |
| Amendment | Abbreviation: "amend." |
| Section | Abbreviation: "sec." or "§" |
| Clause | Abbreviation: "cl." |
| Roman numerals | Use for article and amendment numbers |
| Arabic numerals | Use for section and clause numbers |
| Date | Include the year in parentheses if referring to a repealed or amended part of the Constitution |
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What You'll Learn
Citing the U.S. Constitution in APA style
The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is the go-to source for the correct style of legal citations, including how to cite the U.S. Constitution in APA style. The Bluebook states that if you are simply making a passing reference to the U.S. Constitution, you can mention it in the text without a reference list entry.
However, if you are using a part of the U.S. Constitution as evidence to support a point, you should construct the citation using Bluebook Rule 11, which covers federal and state constitutions. All citations of the U.S. Constitution 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 always abbreviated as "art.", "amend.", "§", and "cl.", respectively. Preamble is abbreviated as "pmbl.". 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 parts of the Constitution that are currently in force, do not include a date. However, if you are referring to a part of the Constitution that has been repealed or amended, include the year that the part in question was repealed or amended in parentheses. For example, "U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933)".
If you are unable to find specific guidelines from APA on how to cite a particular source, you can create a generic reference. The APA Publication Manual lists certain elements that should be included in a generic reference, such as the author, date, and title.
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Citing the U.S. Constitution in MLA style
To cite the U.S. Constitution in MLA style, you should include information about where you accessed it in the Works Cited entry. In the in-text citation, use article/amendment and section numbers instead of page numbers.
For example, if you're citing the online version of the U.S. Constitution, your citation should look like this: ("Constitution of the United States," art. 1, sec. 4). Use the abbreviations “art.” (Article), “amend.” (Amendment), and “sec.” (Section) as appropriate in your citations. Convert any Roman numerals used in the text to Arabic numerals (e.g., “XIV” becomes “14”).
If you're citing a book version of the U.S. Constitution, write the title of the book in italics and list any editors, annotators, or other main contributors to the edition after the title. For example, "The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription." In this case, you would specify the version cited in your parenthetical citation to match the first words of the Works Cited entry.
When mentioning the Constitution in your paper, you can generally just refer to it as "the Constitution" without using italics or quotation marks. However, if you're citing a specific state's constitution, you can use the abbreviated name of that state, such as "Mass. Const." for the Massachusetts Constitution.
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Citing a source with no author or page numbers in MLA
When citing a source with no author or page numbers in MLA format, there are specific guidelines to follow. Firstly, understand that MLA format typically follows the author-page method, meaning the author's last name and page number are included in the in-text citation. However, when a source has no named author, the in-text citation should match the first element of the Works Cited entry, which may be the name of an organization or the title of the source.
If the source title is longer than four words, use a shortened version in the in-text citation, excluding articles like "a," "an," and "the." For example, if the source is titled "The Cultural Significance of Migration in Literature," the in-text citation should use a shortened version like "Cultural Significance." The shortened title should still allow the reader to locate the source in the Works Cited list.
If a source has no page numbers, alternative locators can be used to identify the relevant passage. For instance, you can use chapter numbers, timestamps for video or audio sources, or, in the case of poetry, line numbers. For sources without numbered divisions, only the author's name or title is necessary. If the author or title is mentioned in the sentence, and there is no locator available, a parenthetical citation is not required.
Additionally, when citing the Constitution of the United States in MLA style, the general guidelines for book citations apply. Include relevant information about where the source was accessed, and use article/amendment and section numbers instead of page numbers. The abbreviations "art." for Article, "amend." for Amendment, and "sec." for Section are used, and any Roman numerals are converted to Arabic numerals. For example, "Constitution of the United States (art. 1, sec. 4)."
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Citing an online version of the constitution
To cite an online version of the US Constitution in MLA style, include information about where you accessed it in the Works Cited entry. In the in-text citation, use article/amendment and section numbers instead of page numbers. For example, you could write ("Constitution of the United States," art. 1, sec. 4) and use the abbreviations “art.” (Article), “amend.” (Amendment), and “sec.” (Section) as appropriate in your citations. Convert any Roman numerals used in the text to Arabic numerals (e.g. “XIV” becomes “14”).
In general, when mentioning the Constitution in your paper, you can simply call it the Constitution without italicization or quotation marks. However, in the parenthetical citation, you should specify the version cited to match the first words of the Works Cited entry. For example, "The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription."
If you are citing a part of the Constitution that has been repealed or amended, include the year that the part in question was repealed or amended in parentheses.
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Citing a printed book version of the constitution
The formatting of a citation depends on the citation style. Here is how you would cite a printed book version of the constitution in some of the most common citation styles:
MLA
An MLA book citation includes the author, title, publisher, and year. To cite a printed book version of the Constitution of the United States in MLA style, write the title of the book in italics, and list any editors, annotators, or other main contributors to the edition after the title. For example:
> "The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription," ed. John Smith, Anytown Publishers, 2023.
In the in-text citation, use article/amendment and section numbers instead of page numbers. For example:
> As stated in the Constitution (“Constitution of the United States,” art. 1, sec. 4).
APA
A citation in APA style includes the author, year, title, and source. If you are citing the Constitution as a whole, you may simply mention it in your paper without including a citation in the references list. For example:
> The U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of speech.
If you are citing a specific part of the Constitution, you should use the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers. For example:
> The right to freedom of speech is guaranteed by the U.S. Const. art. I, § 3, cl. 1.
Chicago Manual of Style
The Chicago Manual of Style does not require a bibliography entry for a constitution. When citing the Constitution in the text, cite it as "U.S. Const." followed by the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers. For example:
> Freedom of assembly is guaranteed by U.S. Const. art. I, § 9, cl. 2.
Bluebook
The Bluebook style is often used in legal writing. To cite a printed book version of the Constitution in Bluebook style, use "U.S. Const." followed by the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers. For example:
> U.S. Const. art. I, § 3, cl. 1.
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Frequently asked questions
All citations of the U.S. Constitution begin with "U.S. Const." followed by the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers as relevant. The terms article, amendment, and section are always abbreviated as "art.," "amend.," and "§" 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).
The Bluebook states that for parts of the Constitution currently in force, do not include a date. However, if you are referring to a part of the Constitution that has been repealed or amended, include the year that the part in question was repealed or amended in parentheses.
For state constitutions, use the abbreviated name of the state, followed by "Const." and the relevant article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers. For example, "Ariz. Const. art. IV, § 1."
