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What do you know about the constitution?
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What is it?
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Why was it written?
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Why is it important
Do other countries have one?
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In 1777 the Continental Congress (Representatives from
each state) wrote the Articles of Confederation.
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Articles of Confederation – Americas first government
The Articles of Confederation
was an epic fail.
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Congress could not collect
taxes!
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No Military!
States had most of the power!
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States made own laws and
own money!
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No states worked together
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Some of the leaders of the United States were not happy with the
Article of Confederation.
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States felt like separate countries rather then one single country.
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Representatives from each state met in 1787 to re-write
the Articles of Confederation.
Instead they created a new document (Piece of paper)
called the Constitution
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The Constitution created…
▪ A Strong Central Government
▪ Shared powers between the states and the government
▪ A fair country for all citizens
▪ Laws
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The Constitution is a book of laws.
It outlines everything that Citizens are entitled to.
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It also outlines the penalties for breaking these laws…
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The Constitution is made up of three different
parts.
▪ The Preamble
▪ The Articles
▪ The Amendments (Changes to the Constitution)
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The Preamble is the beginning of the
Constitution.
It tells us why the Constitution was written
The Preamble
explains what exactly
the constitution will
do for all citizens.
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The Second part of the Constitution was the Articles.
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The Articles are set up like chapters in a book and
help outline the governments job!
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The Articles outline the governments powers.
The first three Articles are about the three main parts
of the Federal Government
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There are three parts to the Government or Three Branches
These Three Branches are the main government in charge of all states
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The First Branch is the Legislative Branch
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They make the laws (Congress)
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The Second Branch is the Executive Branch
It makes sure the laws are followed (President)
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The third branch is the Judicial Branch
They explain the laws (Court System)
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The third part of the constitution is the Amendments.
Amendments are changes made to the constitution
to update the laws.
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The Constitution is called a “living document”…why?
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These Amendments help the constitution to evolve.
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The Constitution was created so that it could be used in
the future.
Amendments help us to change the constitution to fit in
modern day society.
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The Constitution can be viewed at the National
Archives in Washington D.C.