United States Constitution
The United States Constitution is the fundamental constitutional law of the United States of America, drafted by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Written over six months in 1787 in order to establish a framework of government for the United States, replacing the 1777 Articles of Confederation, the Constitution was effectively ratified by 21 June 1788 and commenced operation on 4 March 1789. The United States Constitution was first significantly amended in 1791, as a result of the first ten amendments adopted as the Bill of Rights. The process of amendment has continued into the modern era, the Constitution achieving its current form with the ratification of the Twenty-seventh Amendment on 5 May 1992.
The United States Constitution enjoys a central place in United States law, government and politics. The U.S. Constitution has also been closely emulated in other countries on several occasions since its adoption, while exerting significant influence in political and legal thought worldwide. It is the oldest written constitution in operation anywhere in the world.
Constitutional Convention
- Main Article: Constitutional Convention
The constitutional convention opened on 25 May 1787, in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was convened under the authority of the United States Congress, then meeting in New York City. The convention was called following another, smaller convention held in Annapolis, Maryland (known as the Annapolis Conference) in 1786. Delegates to the Annapolis Conference, which convened to discuss issues of trade and commerce among the states, quickly realized that the problems that faced the fledgling nation were not merely confined to trade and commerce, but involved the need for a stronger central government than the confederation allowed.
The delegates to the Philadelphia convention only expected to discuss the deficiencies in the Articles of Confederation, but several key members, especially James Madison, decided to use the convention to try to fundamentally change the structure of the government. Twelves of the states sent delegates to the convention. Only Rhode Island failed to send delegates.
The delegates to the convention included some of the most distinguished members of American society, including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, George Mason, and James Wilson. In all, 55 men attended the convention over the course of the summer of 1787.
The document the delegates produced was hand-written on three broadside sheets of parchment paper, signed on the last sheet by 39 of the delegates. Copies of the final draft were sent to the Congress and to each of the states.
The delegates to the convention are generally referred to as the Framers of the Constitution.
The Preamble
The Preamble of the Constitution states the reason the document was written and the general goals of the framers:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Article 1
- Main Article: Article 1 of the United States Constitution
The first article of the Constitution, referred to as Article 1, lays out the basic structure of the legislative branch of the U.S. government. It establishes a bicameral legislature, called Congress, consisting of two houses. The lower house is called the House of Representatives and the upper house is called the Senate.
Members of the House of Representatives, known as Representatives (or colloquially as Congressmen and Congresswomen), are apportioned to each state in accordance to its population. Article 1 requires that a census by taken of the actual population of each state on a decennial basis. Using euphamism, the Article indicates that slaves be counted separately from free persons, and counted in the population total as three-fifths of their number. Representatives are elected every two years. Representatives must be residents of the state they represent, must have been citizens for at least seven years, and must be at least 25 years old. Each state must have at least one representative, regardless of its population.
Members of the Senate, known as Senators, are elected for six year terms. Senators must be residents of the state they represent, must have been citizens for at least nine years, and must be at least 30 years old. The Senate is divided into three classes, such that every two years, one third of the Senate seats are up for election. Every state, regardless of size, is granted two Senators.
Also included in Article 1 are a list of powers specifically granted to the Congress and a list of powers specifically denied of the states. Powers granted to the Congress, known as enumerated powers, include the power to declare war, the power to coin money, and the power to man and arm an army and navy. Powers denied of the states include the power to tax imports and exports, sign treaties, or grant titles of nobility.
Article 2
- Main Article: Article 2 of the United States Constitution
The second article of the Constitution, referred to as Article 2, lays out the basic structure of the executive branch of the U.S. government. The executive is comprised of the President and the Vice President. The executive also includes all departments of the government (such as the Department of Defense and the Department of State).
The President must be a native-born citizen, must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years, and must be at least 35 years old. The Constitution makes an exception for the native-born requirement for any person who was a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of the Constitution. The requirements for Vice President are the same as those for the President. The President and Vice President are elected every four years.
The President is elected by an institution called the Electoral College. States are granted a number of electoral votes equivalent to the number of Representatives and Senators it has. The state selects electors by whatever means it desires, and on an appointed day, all electors cast their votes for President and Vice President (originally, electors cast two votes for President, and the winner of the vote was President; the runner-up became Vice President).
Article 3
- Main Article: Article 3 of the United States Constitution
The third article of the Constitution, referred to as Article 3, lays out the basic structure of the judicial branch of the U.S. government. The judiciary is comprised of a Supreme Court and any inferior courts the Congress creates.
Federal judges and Supreme Court justices are selected by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Federal judges and justices enjoy a lifetime term, removable only by means of impeachment for bad behavior.
Article 4
- Main Article: Article 4 of the United States Constitution
The fourth article of the Constitution, referred to as Article 4, refers to the states, and was designed to correct perceived deficiencies in the Articles of Confederation. For example, Article 4 requires "full faith and credit" be given to the acts, records, and judicial proceedings of each state by every other state. For example, a marriage granted in one state must be fully recognized in all other states.
Article 4 also includes the rules for the creation of new states. For example, a state may not created from parts of two other states unless the two states agree to the separation. New states are admitted on a majority vote of the Congress.
Article 5
- Main Article: Article 5 of the United States Constitution
The fifth article of the Constitution, referred to as Article 5, details how changes to the Constitution, known as amendments, are enacted. The amendment process in the Articles of Confederation was found to be unworkable, requiring unanimous consent of all states to any changes. The Constitution instead requires assent of three quarters of all states.
Additionally, all amendments have to be agreed to by two thirds of both houses of Congress. Amendments may also be proposed by an amendment convention, if two thirds of all states petition for such a convention.
The Constitution currently has 27 amendments, all of which were proposed by Congress. No amendment convention has ever held.
Though the Constitution does not specify how amendments are incorporated into the text of the Constitution, by tradition, amendments are added at the end of the Constitution.
Article 6
- Main Article: Article 6 of the United States Constitution
The sixth article of the Constitution, referred to as Article 6, notes a few technical details. For example, it assured that all debts of the United States under the Articles of Confederation will be honored by the Unites States under the Constitution. It also notes that the Constitution is the Supreme Law of the land, and articles of state constitutions and treaties in contradiction of the Constitution are inapplicable.
Article 6 also ensures that no religious test should ever be required to hold an office in the USA.
Article 7
- Main Article: Article 7 of the United States Constitution
The seventh and final article of the Constitution, referred to as Article 7, notes the requirements for the ratification of the Constitution: nine of the thirteen states must ratify for the Constitution to take effect.
Signatures
Following the text of Article 7 are forty signatures: that of William Jackson, secretary of the convention, and those of 39 delegates, listed below. The final draft was signed on 17 September, 1787.
- Abraham Baldwin
- Richard Bassett
- Gunning Bedford Jr.
- John Blair
- William Blount
- David Brearly
- Jacob Broom
- Pierce Butler
- Daniel Carroll
- George Clymer
- Jonathan Dayton
- John Dickinson
- William Few
- Thomas Fitzsimons
- Benjamin Franklin
- Nicholas Gilman
- Nathaniel Gorham
- Alexander Hamilton
- Jared Ingersoll
- Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
- William S. Johnson
- Rufus King
- John Langdon
- William Livingston
- James Madison
- James McHenry
- Thomas Mifflin
- Gouverneur Morris
- Robert Morris
- William Paterson
- Charles Pinckney
- Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
- George Read
- John Rutledge
- Roger Sherman
- Richard D. Spaight
- George Washington
- Hugh Williamson
- James Wilson
Ratification
After the final draft was signed, copies were made for the Congress and for each of the thirteen states. The Congress unanimously approved the Constitution on 28 September, 1787, and requested that the states debate it and vote to ratify.
The first state to ratify was Delaware, on 7 December, 1787. Within the next month, three other states ratified: Pennsylvania on 12 December, 1787; New Jersey on 18 December, 1787; and Connecticut on 9 January, 1788.
Georgia ratified on 2 February, 1788; Massachusetts on 6 February, 1788; Maryland on 28 April, 1788; and South Carolina on 23 May, 1788. New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify, on 21 June, 1788. Officially, at that point, the Constitution would officially replace the Articles.
The new Constitution, however, had no chance of creating a viable government without the backing of two of the largest of the states, New York and Virginia. To further the cause during the ratification debates, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay published a series of letters to the people of New York using the pseudonym "[Publius]." These writings were later bundled and republished as the Federalist Papers. The letters explain much of the new Constitution for the layman and touch on historical precedent and political theory. Today, the collected works are considered a masterpiece of political exposition. The actual influence of the Federalist Papers on the votes of the New York ratification convention are debatable, but New York did ratify on 26 July, 1788. Virginia, home of many of the Constitution's greatest backers (including Madison and George Washington), ratified on 25 June, 1788.
On 2 July, 1788, the Congress was informed that the Constitution had been ratified by the required number of states. A few months later, on 13 September, 1788, the Confederation Congress voted itself out of existence, scheduling elections for the new Congress which would open in the following March:
Resolved That the first Wednesday in Jany next be the day for appointing Electors in the several states, which before the said day shall have ratified the said constitution; that the first Wednesday in feby . next be the day for the electors to assemble in their respective states and vote for a president; and that the first Wednesday in March next be the time and the present seat of Congress the place for commencing proceedings under the said constitution.
On 4 March, 1789, newly elected members of the House and Senate gathered in New York City and were sworn in as the First Congress. On 30 April, 1789, George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the United States.
North Carolina finally ratified the Constitution on 21 November, 1789. Recalcitrant Rhode Island, which had not even sent delegates to the convention, finally ratified the Constitution on 29 May, 1790.
Amendments
- Main Article: Amendments to the United States Constitution
The Constitution was quickly amended once it was ratified and the first Congress convened. One of the main arguments against the Constitution during the ratification process was the lack of a bill of rights. One of the main champions of the Constitution, during the Convention and the ratification process, was James Madison. Madison was also elected to the House of Representatives in the first Congress, and he had promised his constituents that he would push through a bill of rights. Madison introduced several amendments in 1789. His list was trimmed and modified in Congress and eventually twelve articles of amendment were sent to the states. Two years later, in 1791, ten of these amendments were ratified. These ten amendments are known collectively as the Bill of Rights.
In total, the Constitution has been amended 27 times, most recently in 1992[1].