US Dopers: have you read the Constitution?

In My Humble Opinion
1

There’s a lot of rumbling going on over the fact that Donald Trump has probably not read the US constitution. The fact that it’s obvious to a lot of people that he hasn’t makes me think that maybe more people in the US have than I might have predicted, which is good.

I know Dopers are not a cross-section of the US, but if lots of Dopers have read it, that still gives me hope for the general population.

Yes, I’ve read it. I was shamed into doing so by being ignorant of a couple of simple things when I was a college freshman, so I read the whole thing during winter break that year. I’ve gone back and reviewed parts of it as needed when issues come up. I’ve never taken a class on it, though, and the only secondary literature I’ve read on it was what was in my government textbook in high school. I do read Supreme Court decisions, though.

So, who here has read it?

2

None of the options really covered me. I’m sure I read the whole thing through, including amendments, in high school as part of classes. While I wouldn’t say I have read entire books on it, I have read articles and analyses of parts of it. I’ve periodically read through the most important sections in connection with current issues. I picked the third option as being closest.

3

Yeah, I’m somewhere between #2 and #3. I’ve read the whole thing, but I have not read “books” on it, although certainly some literature.

4

I’ve read it and The Federalist Papers and the anti-Federalist Papers.

5

I went with the second choice but my knowledge of the Constitution and what it says really started in grade school and went on from there. I didn’t have any formal education on it during college or after but I have continued to read and ponder it all as well as other papers/documents from our beginnings.

6

I’ve read it and studied it (in college and law school). I’ve even read parts of my state constitution

7

Read it, read many articles about it, only one book specifically on the subject.

8

I teach high school United States Government, so I have some passing knowledge of the document.

9

Hmm. That’s funny. I read the Federalist Papers, and part of the anti-Federalist Papers, but somehow, didn’t think of those as secondary literature, even though obviously they are. I was thinking only of non-contemporary works, mainly 20th and 21st century works. That was really bone-headed of me.

10

Yes, and took high school and college classes, and have read books.

I still mess up now and then and forget or misremember bits. It’s a document worth re-reading again and again, to keep fresh.

11

What disturbs me more than the possibility Trump hasn’t read the Constitution is the possibility that he has and just doesn’t give a tinker’s damn about it.

12

The first time I read it was in high school. It was shorter then.

13

This is my case also, but I picked #2 since I have read about it to help me understand it.

14

I have a pocket edition, within arms reach of me at all times, as a desk reference. It is dated 2005, and was published by the US government for free distribution, no need to pay amazon.com a dollar plus 3.99 shipping for its “best seller”. I forgot where I got it.

I’ve never read all the boring procedural details but I can quote quite a lot of the Ten Amendments from memory. I have never “read books on it”, because books are too long, and not necessarily unbiased, and summations are easy to find.

15

I don’t recall if I read the Constitution in school so long ago, but I do read parts of it from time to time and have probably read all of it at this point. I did start to read a compilation of The Federalist Papers, but got bored quickly

16

In my state, you have to pass a Constitution Test to leave 8th Grade; they devoted a semester of Social Studies to teaching what used to be called Civics to prepare students for that test. So I read it and studied it at that level. Then again in High School. Managed to avoid it in College. So I’m not sure which option to pick.

I don’t know it well enough to remember what the 12th Amendment says, or to be very certain whether Cruel and Unusual Punishment is in the 8th Amendment or the 7th, but that’s what Google is for.

17

I had sections of courses in both high school and college that discussed the Constitution. Neither of them were strictly about the Constitution, but it was a focus for a part of the class.

One of the issues I have with people who keep saying “Have you read the Constitution?” is that they often miss the fact that it is not a self-contained document. I see too many people using reasoning like “The Constitution forbids cruel punishments. I think jail is cruel. Therefore, jails are unconstitutional.” It’s rarely that simple on any issue. Hundreds of years of court rulings are relevant to understanding the meaning of words and phrases, and often necessary to understand what courts have implied from the literal meaning.

18

Yeah, but understanding certainly starts with the document itself, and you have to admit a presidential candidate who does not appear to be familiar with it is worrisome.

19

Read it and the Federalist Papers.

20

Interesting that OP has restricted their question to Americans. Other countries have constitutions too, you know! :slight_smile: Just, on the whole, we don’t make such a fuss about them.

There was some political folderol a few years back in Australia (OK, nearly 20 years ago, time marches on,) when PM John Howard decided he wanted to amend the preamble of the constitution to include reference to “mateship.” The Australian Democrats (Stott-Despoja for PM!) blocked it. The whole ridiculous endeavour did have one benefit: it increased public awareness of the Aussie constitution, as well as introducing many to the term “preamble.”