The Constitution and the Bill of Rights
Read the Constitution and Bill of Rights in the National Archives transcriptions, with a short explanation of how the two documents relate.
Last updated September 2026
Contents4
The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are linked, but they are not the same text. The Constitution sets up the federal government and its powers. The Bill of Rights is the name for the first ten amendments. They were added after the Constitution was adopted.
Image note: This photo shows an old book, candle, and rose, not the founding texts. Liam Quin took it around 2003. Commons lists it as public domain in the U.S. and out of copyright in Canada. We make no claim for other places. This copy is cropped and resized.
Read the National Archives transcriptions
The National Archives says its Constitution text keeps the spelling and punctuation on the parchment copied by Jacob Shallus. Its Bill of Rights page gives the text Congress sent to the states in 1789. These are source texts, not a guide to how each line works today.
Why the Bill of Rights has ten amendments
On September 25, 1789, Congress sent twelve changes to the states. On December 15, 1791, three-fourths of state legislatures had approved ten. Those ten became the first ten amendments. In 1992, the second proposal became the 27th Amendment. The first proposal never passed.
That order matters. The Bill of Rights was proposed in 1789 and approved in 1791. It was not part of the Constitution when the states first adopted it. The Archives shows the 1789 plan and the ten changes that became law.
A source guide, not legal advice
Use the Archives texts to read the words as they appear in the records. This page does not say how to apply the Constitution to a live case. For current law or legal advice, use a trusted legal source or speak with a lawyer.
Verdict
Read both texts to see how the ten later changes fit with the Constitution. The National Archives gives the source text and dates. This page keeps the two records apart.