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The Justice Learning Guide to the Constitution is a comprehensive
interpretive reference to the U.S. Constitution and a variety of
Constitutional Issues. It can be accessed from the Justice Learning
website, but functions as an independent web application.
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Launch the Constitution Guide from
the Home Page:
...Or from the right-hand panel of
any Issue Page:
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The resulting window is pre-sized to optimally display the Timeline's
content. The following illustration describes the various components of
the Constitution Timeline's window.
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Tabs
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The Constitution Timeline has three operating modes: Articles,
Amendments and Issues.
- Articles displays the full text of each of the
U.S. Constitution's 8 Articles, subdivided in Sections.
- Amendments displays all 27 Amendments to the U.S.
Constitution. In cases where an Amendment enumerates
more than one right, these are presented separately with
associated timelines of significant events.
- Issues displays individual timelines for each of
the Constitutional Issues identified with Justice
Learning/New York Times Learning Network
Issues.
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Issue Selection
(Issues Only)
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Use this scrolling list to select a new Issue for display.
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Timeline Event Selection
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The left-hand pane of the Constitution Timeline window
displays individual Events in a Timeline. When you click
on an event in this list, its details will display in the
pane to the right.
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Main Display
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The right-hand pane displays a detailed description of the
Event in the current Timeline. When an Article or Amendment
is first selected, the "What it Says" and "What it Means"
portions of its description are also displayed here.
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Working with Articles
Once you have used the Constitution Timeline, it becomes familiar pretty
quickly. There are a few differences when using it to access Articles and
Amendments.
When you have clicked the Articles Tab, the Preamble to the Constitution
displays by default. To select any other Article, click on the roman numeral
representing the Article you wish to reference.
By default, the right pane loads the full, original text of the Article: What it Says.
When an Article has more than one Section, each Section will have its own What it Says
and What it Means elements.
Click the "What it Means" link to read an interpretation in everyday language.
Where one is available, a timeline of events will be associated with each Article Section.
Working with Amendments
There are quite a few more Amendments than Articles. We, therefore, need a few more
mechanisms for locating each one.
Amendments are presented 10 at a time, by roman numerals. Beneath the row of roman
numeral buttons are three Amendment Range selectors: "Bill of Rights," "XI - XX"
and "XXI - XXVII." By clicking one of these three ranges, you can change set of
Amendments available for display.
To select a new Amendment for display, just click the button bearing the roman numeral
corresponding to the Amendment. In this case, the 14th Amendment (XIV) is clicked.
The left-hand pane populates with "What it Says" and "What it Means" selectors and
one or more Constitutional Rights as delineated by the Amendment. Clicking on "What
it Says" displays the original text of the Amendment in the pane at right (this is
displayed by default any time you open a new Amendment).
Clicking "What it Means"
displays Justice Learning's interpretation of the Amendment in the pane at right.
The left pane also lists one or more Rights conferred or associated with the
Amendment. Clicking on any of these Rights will load its associated Timeline
of events int the left pane.
By default, the right pane will display the event associated with the first timeline
date. You can walk through the timeline, clicking on dates, to display the details
concerning that event in the pane at right. Note that each date in the timeline
has a corresponding icon representing the Institution of Democracy involved: The
Congress, the Courts, the Presidency, the Press or the Schools.
To return to the list of Amendment Rights (or What it Says, What it Means), click the
"Back" link at the top of the timeline.
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