This Year’s Hottest Bestseller: The Constitution

Tea Party tied to upsurge in interest in Constitution

By Jane Yager, Newser Staff

Posted May 21, 2010 8:45 AM CDT

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This Year’s Hottest Bestseller: The Constitution — An original copy of the first printed copy of the draft Constitution from August 6, 1787 is on display during a media preview at the National Archives December 10, 2008 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)

With Democrats, Republicans and the Tea Party all citing the Constitution in support of their agendas, ordinary citizens apparently want to get in on the act too: Sales of the US Constitution have skyrocketed over the past year. In March the Constitution reached number 10 on the Government Printing Office bestseller list, and the copies the GPO has sold are just the tip of the iceberg: Congressional offices say they're burning through the stacks of Constitutions available for free to constituents.

One House member said he's recently been hearing a lot more “normal, average, everyday citizens” reference the Constitution. Interest in the document is also up among lawmakers: In 2005 “It was hard to get a lot of discussion going … on the topic, but in the last year or so, the Constitution has become a much more favorite article of discussion,” one tells The Hill.
(More US Constitution stories.)

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