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Introduction to the U.S. Constitution
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The
U.S. Constitution states
basic principles which guide our country's government and laws. When it was written in 1787, it was the plan which told the beginning
country how to form its government. For example, the Constitution said that
the United States would have a president and a vice president. The
Constitution also said
that people would elect other people to represent them. These elected
representatives would form a Congress. The Constitution also guarantees
the rights and liberties of the American people, such as freedom of speech
and freedom of religion.
Today,
the Constitution remains the most important guide to all parts of government. It is often called
the "highest law of the
land." This means that no state, no branch of government, no
person, no elected official--not even the president or Congress--can make
a law or enforce a condition that goes against the Constitution. The
Constitution continues to protect the rights and freedoms of American
citizens.
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Principles
and powers
Our Constitution is
based on several important principles, or main ideas. The first principle is that our government gets its power from the people.
This idea, called popular
sovereignty, was also stated in the Declaration of
Independence.
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Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration
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"We the
People" are the first words of the Constitution and are written larger than any
thing else.
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The
writers wanted to emphasize that the ability to set up and start a
new government came from the
people.
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A second principle is federalism. The Constitution divides power, giving some power to
the central or national government and some power to state governments.
The Constitution lists things the national or federal government can do;
these are delegated powers.
The Constitution lists things which the national government and
the state governments cannot do. Some powers, like
collecting taxes, are concurrent,
powers that both the national and state governments can exercise. The
chart below gives some examples.
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| National powers |
Concurrent powers |
State powers |
| declare war |
collect taxes |
set up schools |
| handle foreign affairs |
create courts |
make marriage laws |
| print money |
punish criminals |
create county and city governments |
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The Constitution never really
lists the powers of the states. Article 1 prohibits or forbids the
states to do certain things such as make its own money, declare war on
another country, or make treaties with another country. Amendment
10 of the Constitution then states that powers not given to the national government and not forbidden to the
states are reserved to the
states.
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Another main idea or principle in the Constitution
is separation of powers.
The first three Articles divide the national government into three branches:
legislative, executive, and
judicial. The writers of the Constitution did not want one part of
government to become too powerful. |
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dividing power into three branches, the writers were careful to add checks
and balances to the Constitution. Each branch of government
has some limits placed on it by another branch. For example,
Congress--the legislative branch-- makes all laws. But Congress
can't make laws which go against the Constitution, and the Supreme
Court--the judicial branch-- can declare a law unconstitutional.
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Writing
the Constitution
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Independence Hall, Assembly room
Courtesy of Independence National Historical Park
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In
1787, delegates met in Independence Hall to rewrite the Articles
of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation,
written after the Declaration of Independence, were a first attempt at
designing a government for the new country. But by 1787, it was
obvious that the Articles of Confederation were not working and many changes
were needed. |
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Delegates from 12 of the 13 states came to Philadelphia
in May 1787, but many of the 55 delegates who came were not
happy. Most delegates felt strongly loyal to the states they
represented and were opposed to writing a constitution which created a
strong national government. However, two delegates, James Madison
and Alexander Hamilton, were convinced that the new country needed a
strong, central government.
The 55 delegates were strong-willed,
successful people. Most delegates were important in their state
governments. Many had fought in the American
Revolution. Thomas Jefferson did not come, but 8 people who
had signed the Declaration of Independence were there. All delegates
agreed that George Washington should be president of the convention.
Benjamin Franklin, at age 81, was the oldest delegate.
Delegates disagreed and became angry with one
another. The summer of 1787 was one of the hottest ever in
Philadelphia. The delegates met all through the summer and worked behind
locked doors and closed windows to keep their meetings secret.
Throughout the meetings, delegates threw temper tantrums, and insulted one
another. Some even stomped out of the meetings and never
returned.
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The
Great Compromise |
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All of the
delegates wanted to create a representative form of government.
People would elect representatives, and these representatives would make
decisions for them.
All the delegates wanted to have a
Congress to make laws. Each state would elect
representatives to Congress. But the delegates could not agree on
how many representatives each state should have. States with a lot
of people thought that they should have more members than states with
fewer people. But states with fewer people didn't want the other
states to have more power in Congress than they had, so they thought all
states should have the same number of members.
A compromise, called the Great
Compromise, settled the disagreement. Congress would
have two parts--a Senate and a House of Representatives. In one
part, the Senate, each state would have the same number of
members. In the other part, the House of Representatives,
states would have different numbers of members depending on how many
people lived in each state. States with more people would have
more representatives. |
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| More than anyone else, it was
James Madison whose words and ideas slowly convinced delegates that a
new constitution and a strong central government were
needed. Madison made more than 150 speeches during the
Constitutional Convention and wrote much of the Constitution. He
is known as the Father of the Constitution. |
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Overview
of the Constitution
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| The Constitution is made up of 3
parts, the preamble, the articles, and the amendments. When the
delegates signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787, it contained
the preamble and 7 articles. In 1791, the first 10 amendments, the
Bill of Rights, were added. Since
1791, 17 other amendments have
been added to the Constitution.
The Constitution
sets up a federal system of government which means power is shared
between the national government and state governments. Articles
I, II, and III separate the power of the national government into 3
branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. Other
articles tell how to change and approve the Constitution and how
states will work with each other and the national government.
The Constitution does not go into lots of
detail. It tells the legislative branch (Congress) to make the
laws. It tells the executive branch (the president) to carry out the
laws made by Congress. And it tells the the judicial branch (the Supreme
Court and other federal courts) to settle any arguments or disagreements
that arise from the Constitution.
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