The U.S. Constitution
History of the Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the highest law of our nation. It is the basic set of laws
that govern our country. The Constitution explains the basic rights of all the citizens of the United
States.
The Constitution was written over two hundred years ago, after America won its independence
from Britain. There were thirteen colonies. They became the United States of America. The thirteen
states struggled for a few years after the war. They had a weak Congress. George Washington and other
patriots knew they needed a strong national government.
The states acted as individual countries. Each had its own government. They were not united.
Leaders decided to call a meeting of the thirteen states. Fifty-five representatives held a meeting in
Philadelphia. They called the meeting the Continental Convention. It met on May 25, 1787. The
convention lasted through the summer.
The representatives wanted a strong national government. They also wanted the states to remain
strong and to make laws for themselves without the national government getting too much power. They
wanted certain rights for all Americans that the government could not take away.
Thirty-nine men signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787. These men are sometimes called
the “Founding Fathers.” Benjamin Franklin helped to lead the delegates at the Constitutional Convention.
He was the oldest member.
The Constitution could not become law until nine of the thirteen states ratified, or accepted, it.
The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware. New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify
the Constitution. It became law in 1788.
Parts of the Constitution
The Constitution of the United States has three parts: the Preamble, the Articles, and the Bill of
Rights.
The Preamble
The Preamble is the first part. It begins as an introduction: “We the People.” It explains the
reasons the Founding Fathers created the Constitution.
The Articles
The second section has seven parts called Articles. It tells how the government will function. The
Constitution gave certain powers to the national government and some to the state governments. The
men who wrote the Constitution decided the government’s power should be divided into three groups.
They called this the “separation of powers.” The three groups include the Congress, the President, and
the national law courts.
The “separation of powers” are the first three articles of the Constitution. The first three
articles give the Congress the right to make the laws of the nation. The president has the right to make
sure the laws are kept and is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The judges and law courts
decide what the laws mean when people do not agree. They have the power to say when a law is broken.
The Constitution provides for elections. The president and Congress are elected by the people for short
terms.
Article IV tells how the states should work together with each other and with the national
government.
Article V tells how amendments may be added to the Constitution.
Article VI states that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
Article VII tells the states how to ratify the Constitution.
The Bill of Rights
Another check put on the national government was the Bill of Rights. It is the third part of the
Constitution. The Bill of Rights was attached to the United States Constitution in 1791. It describes a
list of rights to the people that the government cannot take away.
Other Amendments
Amendments are changes or additions. There have been 26 additions since 1788. When people
cannot agree on the Bill of Rights, the court system must decide how the Bill of Rights should be
interpreted. There have been many amendments added to the Bill of Rights.
The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments put an end to slavery. Black people were
granted citizenship to the United States.
For many years women struggled for the right to vote. Only men were given the right to vote and
select the leaders of the country. Amendment nineteen gave all women the right to vote.
The voting age for Americans was twenty-one. In 1971, the 26th amendment was added to the
Constitution. It gave the right to vote to those 18 years of age.