This document was produced by some of the greatest minds of the 18th century. After the Articles of Confederation proved to be inadequate to govern the States, this is what was produced instead. The Articles of Confederation provided for a very weak centralization of the states. Basically, everything was left open to the individual states' interpretation, but all states would work together for a common defense. The Constitution sets up a Republic, a centralized government controlled and protected by law. In fact, when a lady approached Benjamin Franklin after the signing of the Constitution, she asked him "Well Doctor, what have we got a republic or a monarchy?" "A republic," replied the Doctor, "if you can keep it.� Several checks and balances were put in place to make sure that all three branches of government kept the other branches from gaining too much power. Many issues were still left up to the individual states. Here is a link to the full text of the Constitution (including the amendments), courtesy of Emory University: The U.S. Constitution.

If you would like your own pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution, Heritage.org is currently providing free copies (shipped to your home absolutely free) to individuals who agree to receive their weekly e-mails.

Keep in mind that the first 10 amendments to the Constitution make up what is known as the Bill of Rights. This is a list of God-given inalienable rights that all citizens are entitled to and that the government should never establish laws that interfere with these rights. Unfortunately, over a couple hundred years, the government has seemingly forgotten these rights, or at least not valued them. Many laws (take a look at the Patriot Act, just as one example) currently in the books violate one or more of these amendments, and as such, they are unconstitutional.