Preamble
"We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, 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."
- Preamble to the United States Constitution
Brief History of United States Constitution
On September 17, 1787 the Constitution of the United States of America was finalized and signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation that had proved unsuccessful. The Articles of Confederation gave the federal government limited powers, leaving the states with a considerable amount of control regarding matters such as finance, defense and trade. George Washington described the existing government under the Articles of Confederation as “little more than the shadow without substance.” Without the ability to sufficiently regulate commerce, impose taxes and enforce laws, the federal government was functioning on a depleted treasury. Inflation and economic strife contributed to Shay's Rebellion in Massachusetts.
On February 21, 1787, Congress resolved that delegates appointed from the thirteen states meet in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. The delegates believed that creating a nation with a strong central government and enforceable powers was essential. The delegates agreed to create three separate branches of government: legislative (to be composed of two houses), judicial, and executive. Each branch was intended to have the ability to balance the power centralized in the others.
The scene at the Signing of the Constitution, oil painting (reproduction) by Howard Chandler Christy, 1940. Courtesy of 'The National Archive Experience'.
The composition of the two legislative houses garnered much debate between the delegates. In general, delegates representing larger states argued for proportional representation in the legislature based on the state’s population, whereas representatives from the smaller states wanted equal representation. After much debate, the “Great Compromise” was reached: in the House of Representatives, seats would be allocated based on each state’s population, whereas in the Senate, every state would have equal representation with two seats each.
After the Constitution was finalized and signed on September 17, 1787, the ratification process began. Nine states were required to ratify the Constitution. The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia and Connecticut. The Constitution was narrowly ratified in Massachusetts, with several members suggesting that the Constitution be amended. Several other states followed suit and requested similar amendments. Most notably among the proposed amendments was the inclusion of a Bill of Rights. This political pressure helped to initiate the process in which the Bill of Rights was later added to the Constitution. The Constitution was next ratified by Maryland, South Carolina and New Hampshire, completing the nine state ratification requirement in 1788. However, New York and Virginia, two powerful and influential states, and North Carolina and Rhode Island remained undecided. A series of newspaper articles, later collected as The Federalist, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison (who is considered the father of the Constitution) and John Jay under the pseudonym Publius, became influential in New York and Virginia, helping lead to narrow ratifications in those states in 1788.
James Madison, University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, UW25689z
Those people who opposed the Constitution became known as antifederalists. Antifederalists, such as Patrick Henry and George Mason, believed that although the Articles of Confederation did not give enough power to the federal government, the framers of the Constitution had gone too far and given too much power to the president, provided too little representation in Congress, and developed a new federal court system that would encroach on local courts. They believed that too much centralized power would lead to tyranny. Both Patrick Henry and George Mason helped to secure the first ten amendments to the Constitution in 1791.
Patrick Henry, University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, UW25669z
After New York and Virginia agreed to ratify the Constitution, the new federal government began to take shape. The House and the Senate elected George Washington as the nation’s first president and he was sworn into office on April 30, 1789. North Carolina and Rhode Island ratified the Constitution in late 1789 and 1790.
George Washington , University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, UW25668
The Constitution is the supreme law of the United States. It is the oldest and shortest written constitution of any government in the world. The text of the Constitution is comprised of seven articles and twenty-seven amendments. Article One establishes the legislative branch that is composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Article Two sets forth the provisions regarding the executive branch and impeachment. Article Three describes the organization of the judicial branch. Article Four sets forth the relationship between the states and the federal government and also the relationship among the states. Article Five sets forth the provisions that are required to amend the Constitution. Article Six states that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Article Seven sets forth the provisions that are necessary to ratify the Constitution.
There have been twenty-seven amendments to the Constitution. Some of the more famous amendments to the Constitution include the addition of the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights, adopted in 1791, addresses the freedoms of speech, religion; the right to bear arms; the right against unreasonable searches, seizures and arrests; and due process and various judicial protections. Other frequently cited amendments include: the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery; the Fourteenth Amendment, providing for the right to due process and equal protection of the laws; and the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments, prohibiting the use of race, color and sex as a qualification for voting. The last amendment to the Constitution was made in 1992.
The topic of slavery was very much a part of the political debates and compromises surrounding ratification of the Constitution. Nonetheless, the word "slavery" does not appear in the original Constitution. An essay entitled "Things That Are Not In the U.S. Constitution" which is posted on www.usconstitution.net notes:
Originally, the Framers were very careful about avoiding the words "slave" and "slavery" in the text of the Constitution. Instead, they used phrases like "importation of Persons" at Article 1, Section 9 for the slave trade, and "other persons" at Article 1, Section 2 for slaves. Not until the 13th Amendment was slavery mentioned specifically in the Constitution. There the term was used to ensure that there was to be no ambiguity as what exactly the words were eliminating. In the 14th Amendment, the euphemism "other persons" (and the three-fifths value given a slave) were eliminated.
In 1865, with the ratification of the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery, a constitutional solution to the issue of slavery was established.