This first-ever translation of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights into Latin is accompanied by brief biographies of the ancient Roman scholar Cicero as well as the five members of the Committee of Style who crafted the final wording of the Constitution in 1787. 

 

The background of many of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 included expertise in the Latin language.  Reading the U.S. Constitution, it sounds as if it could be a translation from some Latin prototype from the Roman Republic.  Consequently, a Latin version of the Constitution seems to be a natural extension of the education and thinking prevalent in the era of the Founding Fathers. 

 

With the Latin and English versions on facing pages, this volume will add a new dimension to the study of the Constitution and to the field of Classical Philology.  It will be a resource for students and scholars of Classics, Constitutional Law, and American History.