Reflecting on important developments like the Clinton impeachment, the balanced budget amendment, gay marriages, and the Violence Against Women Act, Vile's updated book will prove invaluable to those studying the United States Constitution. Designed to help students understand the Constitution in all of it splendor and subtlety, Vile introduces key events of the founding era, the Declaration of Independence, and the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention. The Constitution and its amendments are explored section by section, along with pertinent historical events, laws, and cases.Students new to constitutional law, American politics, and American history will find Vile's book an authoritative starting point, quickly and easily placing the Constitution's sections and amendments in a wider context, and leading them to other important issues and texts. Those already familiar with Constitutional issues will be able to make use of the book as a reference guide, able to lead them at a glance to landmarks in the U.S. Constitutional history and development. Each chapter concludes with a bibliography of key books and cases useful for further study. Appendices include a glossary, a table of the 50 most important cases, and the texts of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution.