The ideal introduction for students, aspiring citizens, and general readers to the documents that are as relevant today as when they were first drafted more than 200 years ago. In the years since their creation, the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the Constitution of the United States (1789) have come to be recognized as two of history's most significant political documents. Yet, while they affect our everyday lives, too few of us are familiar with what they say. In this revised and updated edition, readers will find complete explanations of every section of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution--its Preamble, main body, and amendments--so that readers may fully understand what they meant to our forefathers and what they mean to us today.