US Constitution

The United States Constitution is the oldest codified Constitution in the world, with its ratification taking place in 1788. Since its creation, it has served as the primary governing document of the United States. Originally written to replace the highly problematic Articles of Confederation, it created a new type of government that gave a voice to the citizenry and included a clear separation of powers and a system of checks and balances. Since its ratification in 1788, the US Constitution has withstood numerous changes in the form of amendments; this adaptability is the key to its longevity and clearly displays the precision and care the framers exercised while drafting it. Its longevity and novel form of government has made it an incredibly influential document around the world with most modern countries having adopted a constitution.

US Constitution Definition

The US constitution is an official document that embodies the rules and principles regarding governance in the United States. A Representative Democracy was created utilizing checks and balances to ensure a balance of power amongst the different branches of government and serves as the framework upon which all laws in the United States are created.

Figure 1. The preamble of the US Constitution, Constitutional Convention derivative image by Hidden Lemon, Wikimedia Commons

US Constitution Summary

The US Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, and ratified on June 21, 1788. It was drafted to address the failures of the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution was drafted in Philadelphia by a group of delegates today known as "the Framers." Their main objective was to create a stronger federal government, which is something the Articles of Confederation lacked. They created a Representative Democracy in which citizens would have a voice through their representatives in Congress and be governed by the rule of law. The Framers were inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment and pulled from some of the most prominent thinkers of this period, including John Locke and Baron de Montesquieu, to draft the Constitution.

The Constitution also transitioned the United States from a confederation to a federation. The primary difference between a federation and a confederation is where sovereignty lies. In a confederation, the individual states that make up the confederation maintain their sovereignty and do not cede it to a larger central power such as a federal government. In a federation, such as what the US Constitution created, the individual states that make up the federation maintain some rights and decision-making abilities but cede their sovereignty to a larger central power. In the case of the United States, that would be the federal government.

The Constitution is composed of three parts: the preamble, the articles, and the amendments. The preamble is the opening statement of the Constitution and states the document's purpose, the seven articles establish an outline for the structure of the government and its powers, and the 27 amendments establish rights and laws.

The 7 Articles of the US Constitution

The seven articles in the US Constitution outline how the US government should be governed. They established the legislative, judicial, and executive branches; defined federal and state powers; set the guidelines for amending the Constitution, and set rules for the implementation of the Constitution.

• 1st Article: Established the legislative branch comprised of the Senate and House of Representatives

• 2nd Article: Established the Executive Branch (Presidency)

• 3rd Article: Established the Judicial Branch

• 4th Article: Defines state relationships with one another and the federal government

• 5th Article: Established the Amendment Process

• 6th Article: Established the Constitution as the supreme law of the land

• 7th Article: Established rules for ratification

The first ten amendments in the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. Amended in 1791, these are the most significant amendments because they describe the rights guaranteed to the citizenry by the government. Since its ratification, thousands of amendments to the Constitution have been proposed, but to date, it has only been amended a total of 27 times.

Bill of Rights (1^st 10 Amendments)

• 1st Amendment: Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition

• 2nd Amendment: Right to Bear Arms

• 3rd Amendment: Quartering of troops

• 4th Amendment: Search and Seizure

• 5th Amendment: Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self Incrimination, Due Process

• 6th Amendment: Right to a Speedy Trial by Jury, Witnesses, and Counsel.

• 7th Amendment: Jury Trial in Civil Lawsuits

• 8th Amendment: Excessive fines, Cruel and Unusual Punishments

• 9th Amendment: Non-Enumerated Rights Retained by People

• 10th Amendment: Federal Government only has powers that are stipulated in Constitution.

Amendments 11 - 27 were all amended at different times, as opposed to the Bill of Rights. Although these amendments are all critical in their own way, the most significant ones are the 13th, 14th, and 15th; the 13th Amendment abolishes slavery; the 14th defines what a US citizen is, resulting in enslaved people being considered citizens; and the 15th Amendment gave male citizens the right to vote without discrimination.

Other Amendments:

• 11th Amendment: Prohibited Federal Courts from hearing certain State Lawsuits

• 12th Amendment: Election of President and Vice President

• 13th Amendment: Abolition of Slavery

• 14th Amendment: Citizenship Rights, Equal Protection

• 15th Amendment: Right to Vote Not Denied by Race or Color.

• 16th Amendment: Federal Income Tax

• 17th Amendment Popular Election of Senators

• 18th Amendment: The prohibition of Liquor

• 19th Amendment: Women's Voting Rights

• 20th Amendment Adjusts Begining and Ending of Terms for President, Vice President, and Congres

• 21st Amendment: Repeal of Prohibition

• 22nd Amendment: Two Term limit on Presidency

• 23rd Amendment: Presidential Vote for DC.

• 24th Amendment: Abolition of Poll Taxes

• 25th Amendment: Presidential Disability and Succession

• 26th Amendment: Right to Vote at Age 18

• 27th Amendment: Prohibits Congress from Getting Pay Raises during Current Session

US Constitution Purpose

The primary purpose of the US Constitution was to repeal the faulty Articles of Confederation and establish a federal government, fundamental laws, and rights guaranteed to American citizens. The Constitution also establishes the relationship between the states and the federal government ensuring that states maintain a high degree of independence but are still subordinate to a larger governing body. The Preamble of the Constitution most clearly articulates the reason for the Constitution:

Figure 2. The Framers Signing the US Constitution at Independence Hall on September 17, 1787, Howard Chandler Christy, Wikimedia Commons

US Constitution Date

Before the US constitution was ratified, the Articles of Confederation governed the United States. It formed the Congressional Congress, which was the federal entity and gave most of the power to the states. However, it was apparent that there was a need for a stronger centralized government. The main downfalls of the Articles of Confederation were that it didn't allow the federal government to tax citizens (only states had that ability) and had no power to regulate commerce. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and George Washington led the effort to call for a constitutional convention to create a stronger centralized government. The Congressional Congress agreed to have a constitutional convention to revise the Articles of Confederation.

In May of 1787, 55 representatives from each of the 13 states, with the exception of Rhode Island, attended the constitutional convention at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, known today as Independence Hall. The delegates, primarily well-educated and wealthy landowners, included many major figures of the time such as Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin.

Over the course of the convention, which lasted from May 15 to September 17, the Framers debated multiple topics ranging from federal and state powers to slavery. One of the more contentious issues was centered around state representation in the federal government (Virginia Plan vs. New Jersey Plan), which led to the Connecticut Compromise, in which the House of Representatives would have representation based on the state's population, while in the Senate, all states would be represented equally. They also debated the executive branch's powers, which resulted in giving the president veto power, which could be overturned with 2/3 of a vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Another hot topic was slavery. Slavery was never mentioned forthright in the Constitution but can be inferred. The Three-Fifth's compromise in Article 1 allowed 3/5ths of the "other people" besides the freed population to be considered when counting the population for representation. There was also a provision, now called the fugitive slave clause, in Article 4 that made it possible for a "person held to service or labor" that fled to another state to be seized and returned. These provisions that protected slavery in the Constitution seemed to go against the sentiment behind the Declaration of Independence; however, the Framers believed it to be a political necessity.

Although their goal was to revise the Articles of Confederation, the Framers created an entirely new form of government within a few months, and the US Constitution was born. This new government would be a federation with a built-in system of checks and balances. Although the Framers weren't entirely content with how the US Constitution was drafted and were apprehensive about its success, 39 of the 55 delegates signed the US Constitution on September 17, 1787.

Figure 3. US Capitol, Pixaby

US Constitution Ratification

On December 7, 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution. It was then followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, and South Carolina. On June 21, 1788, the US constitution was officially adopted when New Hampshire ratified the Constitution, making it the 9^th state to ratify it. On March 4, 1789, the Senate met for the first time, making it the first official day of the new US federal government.