This text begins by describing various prequels to the U.S. Constitution and explaining how the final document emerged at the Constitutional Convention. The subsequent chapters examine many proposed alternatives and revisions to the Constitution from its establishment until the present, illuminating perceived strengths and weaknesses of the current document as well as the pros and cons of possible amendments.

American Constitutional prequels -- The writing and ratification of the U.S. Constitution and its emergence from a number of alternatives -- From the founding through the Civil War -- From Reconstruction to the turn of the century -- Proposals occasioned by progressivism and World War I -- Proposals from the Great Depression through World War II and beyond -- Proposals from the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s -- The Reagan and George H.W. Bush years -- The Clinton years : approaching a new century and a new millennium -- The George W. Bush years -- The Barack Obama years -- Constitutional reform in cyberspace -- Constitutional reform and constitutional archetypes -- Analysis and conclusion-- Appendix A: The Constitution of the United States -- Appendix B: Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.