American constitutional law, to paraphrase Charles Evans Hughes, is what the Supreme Court says it is. But of course it is much more than that. Constitutional law is constantly informed by numerous actors’ understandings of the meaning of the United States Constitution. Lawyers, judges, politicians, academicians, and, of course, citizens all contribute to the dialogue that produces constitutional law. Consequently, the Constitution remains a vital part of American public life, continuously woven into the fabric of our history, politics, and culture. Our goal in writing this textbook is to illustrate this premise in the context of the most salient and important provisions of the Constitution
