The U.S. Constitution Reader

The U.S. Constitution: A Reader, featuring 113 primary source documents, was created for teaching the core course on the U.S. Constitution at Hillsdale College. Divided into eleven sections with introductions by members of Hillsdale's Politics Department faculty, the readings cover various topics including the principles of the American founding, the framing and structure of the Constitution, the secession crisis and the Civil War, the Progressive rejection of the Constitution, and the building of the administrative state based on Progressive principles.

America's Founders, as described by James Madison, created a government with "no model on the face of the earth." The moral foundation of this government lies in the Declaration of Independence and its principle of equal natural rights. The Constitution was designed to limit government to the protection of these rights.

In recent years, there has been a departure from the principles of the Constitution. Government has expanded beyond its intended limitations, leading to a decrease in our liberties. Unfortunately, true civic education in America, particularly education on the Constitution, has declined. It is one of our highest duties at Hillsdale College to reverse this trend.

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