The United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence

This collection includes both the English text of the American Constitution from 1787 and a contemporary Dutch translation. This also applies to the American Declaration of Independence from 1776.

The United States Constitution is the oldest and shortest Constitution in existence. The text has great topical value and plays a major role in the political and legal debate in the United States. Not a letter has been changed in the text since the eighteenth century. An appendix contains 27 amendments.

Both documents – the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence – have been widely followed in other countries. The introduction to this collection highlights a few Dutch aspects of both writings.