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The Constitutionis the base for all laws in the United States. |
The Basics
The Constitution is the highest law in the United States. All other lawscome from the Constitution. It says how the government works. It creates thePresidency. It creates the Congress. It creates the Supreme Court. Each statealso has a constitution. The constitutions of the states are their highest lawfor that state — but the United States Constitution is higher.
The Constitution can be changed. The Constitution is changed by an'amendment.' Among the amendments is a list of the rights of the people. Bylisting these rights, they are made special. It is illegal for the governmentto violate those rights. As of 2006, there are 27 amendments. Not all of theminvolve rights, but many do. The first ten amendments are special. They arecalled the Bill of Rights.
The Framersworked for four months over the course of a hot summer in Philadelphia tocraft the Constitution. |
History
The Constitution was written in 1787. Yes, it is over 200 years old. Weactually have old copies of what was created. The master copies are stored atthe National Archives in Washington D.C.We also have pictures of the Constitution on thissite.
From May to September 1787 a group of men known as the Framers met. TheFramers talked about what should be in the Constitution. The United States wasa brand new country. The United States had a government that did not work verywell. The Framers met to find a new way of running the country. This meetingis called The Convention. Some of the Framers are famous to us today. Theyinclude James Madison, Ben Franklin, and George Washington.
At that time there were only 13 states. The men came from all the statesexcept Rhode Island. Each state had ideas for the new government. The Framershad many debates. They talked a lot. They make a lot of speeches. By talkingabout it, they came up with a plan that everyone could agree with. They had tohave a lot of compromises. Only by agreeing could all the arguments be workedout. Ben Franklin said the he was not sure if the plan was perfect. He saidthat it was probably as perfect as it could be.
This map of theUnited States was published in 1784 by William Faden. |
After the Convention, the Constitution had to be approved. Actually, onlynine states had to agree to, or ratify, the Constitution. But everyone wantedall 13 states to agree. Two states took a long time to decide to agree. Thesestates were Rhode Island and North Carolina. In the end, they did agree. Oncethe first nine states agreed, we say the Constitution was 'ratified.' NewHampshire was the ninth state to ratify.
Amendments
When the Constitution was written, the Framers knew their creation was notperfect. They knew that other people would have good ideas for theConstitution. They wanted to be sure that it wasn't too hard to make changes.They also wanted to be sure that it wasn't too easy.
The Framers added an amendment process. An amendment to the Constitution isa change that can add to the Constitution or change an older part of it.
Originally, some people did not want to ratify the Constitution. One bigreason was that it did not have a bill of rights. A bill of rights is a list ofrights that belong to the people. The government is not allowed to break theserights. Some of these rights might sound familiar: the right of free speech;the right to practice your own religion; the right to be silent if you arearrested. The original Constitution had no bill of rights. Many of the Framersdid not think it was needed. But many people wanted one. So, promises were madeto add one, using the amendment process.
Soon, the new government started meeting. Congress proposed the Bill ofRights. A list of twelve changes was sent to the states. In 1791, ten of thosechanges were agreed to by the states. The ten changes were added to theConstitution. These ten changes are called the 'Bill of Rights.'
Other changes to the Constitution are discussed below. The last change tothe Constitution was made in 1992. The 27th Amendment is actually one of thetwo left-over amendments from 1791. It is very unusual for an amendment totake that long to be accepted, but it is possible. Some, like the 26thAmendment, are accepted very quickly, in just 100 days. Most, though, take alittle over a year to be ratified.
This image of ablack slave appealed to the humanity of free whites, asking, 'Am I not a manand a brother?' The image accompanied the antislavery poem 'Our Countrymen inChains' by John Greenleaf Whittier, published in 1837. |
Slavery
In 1787, most of the black people in America were slaves. A slave issomeone who is owned by someone else. Today, there are no legal slaves in America.It was common in 1787. As time went by, more people thought that slavery waswrong. Most of the people who wanted to end slavery were from the states in thenorth. They were called abolitionists. Most of the people who wanted to keepslavery were from the states in the south. Slavery was important in the South.A lot of how the people in the south made money involved slaves. Slaves wereworth money. Slaves picked their crops, like cotton and tobacco.
The people in the North wanted to end slavery. They said it was animportant step for America. The people of the South were afraid of losingslavery. They were afraid of losing business. They thought that havingslavery was important for each state choose on its own. When President Lincolnwas elected, the South got very angry. Lincoln had said he didn't likeslavery. Most of the Southern states decided to break away from the UnitedStates. They created their own country. It was called the Confederate Statesof America. The USA did not agree that the states of the CSA could break away.The Civil War followed. The USA won that war. It was a terrible war. Manypeople died. Many buildings were destroyed.
Something good did happen, though. Slavery ended. With the 13th Amendment,slavery was made illegal. The 14th Amendment said that every person born in theUnited States was a full citizen. Even former slaves were full citizens. The15th Amendment made sure that black people could vote.
These changes protected many freedoms. But it took a long time to changepeoples' minds. Many people still did not like black people. They thoughtthat white people were better. For 100 years, some laws reflected thisfeeling. Today, these laws are also gone. Most people do not think thatanyone is better than someone else just because of their color.
A portrait ofElizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Stanton and Anthony were leadersin the 'suffragette' movement, the movement to give the vote towomen. |
Women
At the beginning, we talked about the men who were the Framers. For a longtime, most of the people who shaped the country were men. This is not becausewomen could not help. It is not because women did not want to help. Instead,men held all the positions of power. Men were the Presidents. Men were themembers of Congress. Men were the mayors. Men were the owners of companies.Women had very little chance to advance in life. Today, many women like takingcare of the home. Today, though, this is a choice. Before, this was the onlyoption for a woman.
Women had no role in government. They had no role in politics. Theywere homemakers. They took care of their husbands or fathers. They took careof kids. Most men did not feel that women should vote. There were actuallylaws that said women could not vote. Many people decided this was wrong and manywomen and some men fought against it. Finally, in 1920, the 19th Amendment waspassed. It says that women can vote in all elections.
Constitution United States Text
Today, women are active in government and politics. Being able to vote is abig part of that. Without the ability to vote, women had no voice. Without avoice, there was no reason for politicians to care what women think. They didnot care about issues that are important to women. Once women could vote, somegot very interested in politics. Some women ran for office. There have not yetbeen any women as President. However, it is only a matter of time before thefirst woman President is elected.
The Bill of Rightsprotects the freedom of, and from, religion. |
The Bill of Rights
We already talked about the Bill of Rights. It was passed because somepeople were afraid that the government would have too much power. They wereafraid that some important things could be made illegal. They wanted to besure to keep those things legal.
For example, you can say whatever you want about the President. You can saythat you don't like his hair. You can say you don't like his voice. You cansay you don't like the war in Iraq. You can say you don't like his tax ideas.It seems normal to us to be able to say these things. We can criticize thePresident. We can criticize a member of Congress. We can criticize a mayor. Wecan say what things they do that we don't like. This is only possible becauseof the Right of Free Speech. The Bill of Rights protects Free Speech.
The freedom toexpress yourself, in speech, in writing, and in protest, is also protected bythe Bill of Rights. |
Imagine if there was no right to free speech. A law could be passed thatsays that if you criticize the President's hair, you can spend a day in jail.Or worse, criticizing the President's taxes can get you a year in jail.These are the kinds of laws that the Framers were afraid of. The Bill of Rightsprotects us from such laws. We cannot be put in jail because of ouropinions.
The Bill of Rights protects a lot of other freedoms. For example, you canbelieve in any religion you want. The government cannot force you to believein something. You cannot be forced to house soldiers in your home. The policecannot come into your home without a good reason. The police may not take yourpapers without reason. The police cannot force you testify against yourself incourt. In fact, the police cannot force you to tell them anything at all.This is called the 'right to remain silent'. And you cannot be given unusualpunishments. You cannot be given twenty years in jail for speeding.
An interior viewof the House of Representatives, the 'lower' house of the United StatesCongress. The House is known as the 'peoples' house' because since thebeginning, the members were elected by the people. |
How it all works
The Constitution sets up the government. It is split into three branches.The first is the Legislative. The second is the Executive. The third is theJudiciary. Each one has its own role in how the law is made and used.
The Legislature makes the law. The legislature is called the Congress. Itis split into two parts. The first is the House of Representatives. Thesecond is the Senate.
Each Representative comes from a district in one of the states. Thatperson's job is to represent the people in that district. The people elect theRepresentative. They have the right to tell him or her how they feel aboutissues. There are 435 Representatives. Bigger states have moreRepresentatives. Every state has at least one.
The Senate is made up of 100 Senators. There are two Senators from eachstate. The people elect Senators. Senators should represent the interests ofall of the people.
When the Congress wants to pass a law, both the House and the Senate mustagree to the exact same law. If they cannot agree, then the law cannotpass.
A Presidentialbill-signing ceremony. In this image, Lyndon Johnson is signing the MedicareBill in 1965, as former President Harry Truman looks on. |
The role of the Executive is mainly to make sure the law is carried out. ThePresident heads the Executive. The Executive also includes the Vice President.The Secretaries of all the departments are also in the Executive. One departmentis the Department of Homeland Security. Another is the Department ofEducation. And one more is the Department of Defense.
Before a law becomes a law, the President must agree to it. If he does notagree, he rejects, or vetoes, the law. When he vetoes a law, he sends it backto the Congress. Congress can then try to pass the law again. The Presidentcan also refuse to sign a law — if he does, it will become a law any way.The government has lots of checks and balances. This is one example of thechecks and balances. The Congress must pass laws the President will agree to.The President is accountable for his decisions regarding laws.
The last branch is the Judiciary. This includes all the federal courts, allthe way up to the Supreme Court. States have their own court systems, too. Thestate courts are under the national courts. The role of the Judiciary is tointerpret the law.
The law might say, 'It is illegal to break into someone's home.' If someoneis caught breaking into a home, the courts will ask several questions. First,can the government make this illegal? If it cannot, the law is called'unconstitutional.' Such laws are invalid. Next, the court will askif the person is actually guilty. Usually, a jury will find someone guilty ornot guilty. Sometimes just a judge decides this.
A trial by jury is a right. It means that other people from your area willdecide if you broke the law. Sometimes juries, and courts, make mistakes. Ifsomeone is found guilty, they can 'appeal.' There is a set of special courtsset up for appeals. The last court of appeal is the Supreme Court. Whatever theSupreme Court says is the end. There is no appeals court higher than theSupreme Court.
This page is a very basic introduction to the Constitution. It also talksabout some of the topics that surround it. There are lots of good books inyour local library, too. They will let you get a lot more detail. This sitealso has a lot of good pages that have more detail. See the list of linksbelow for some of these pages.
- The Basics
- The Constitution (in sections)
- History
- Slavery
- Women
- The Bill of Rights
- How it all works
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The “Constitution of the United States” is the supreme law of the United States of America.
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The first three Articles of the Constitution establish the rules and separate powers of the three branches of the federal government: a legislature, the bicameral Congress; an executive branch led by the President; and a federal judiciary headed by the Supreme Court. The last four Articles frame the principle of federalism. The Tenth Amendment confirms its federal characteristics.
The Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and ratified by conventions in eleven states. It went into effect on March 4, 1789. The first ten constitutional amendments ratified by three-fourths of the states in 1791 are known as the Bill of Rights. The Constitution has been amended seventeen additional times (for a total of 27 amendments) and its principles are applied in courts of law.
This guide contains the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Additional Amendments and an explanation of the principles of Constitutional interpretation.
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Get your free copy of the “Constitution of the United States.”
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