The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. It comprises seven articles, delineates the national frame of government. Its first three articles entrench the doctrine of the separation of powers (the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, the executive, the judicial). Articles Four, Five and Six entrench concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments and of the states in relationship to the federal government. Article Seven establishes the procedure subsequently used by the thirteen States to ratify it.
After America won its independence from Great Britain with its 1783 victory in the American Revolution, it became increasingly evident that the young republic needed a stronger central government in order to remain stable. In 1786, Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804), a lawyer and politician from New York, called for a constitutional convention to discuss the matter. The Confederation Congress, which in February 1787 endorsed the idea, invited all 13 states to send delegates to a meeting in Philadelphia.
The Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, presided over by George Washington. (at the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall)
At the 1787 convention, delegates devised a plan for a stronger federal government with three branches along with a system of checks and balances to ensure no single branch would have too much power.
In 1789, Madison, then a member of the newly established U.S. House of Representatives, introduced 19 amendments to the Constitution. On September 25, 1789, Congress adopted 12 of the amendments and sent them to the states for ratification. Ten of these amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, were ratified and became part of the Constitution on December 10, 1791. The Bill of Rights–10 amendments guaranteeing basic individual protections such as freedom of speech and religion.
The majority of the seventeen later amendments expand individual civil rights protections. Others address issues related to federal authority or modify government processes and procedures.
There have been a total of 27 constitutional amendments.
The Constitution is interpreted, supplemented, and implemented by a large body of constitutional law. The Constitution of the United States is the first constitution of its kind, adopted by the people’s representatives for an expansive nation; and it has influenced the constitutions of other nations.
Today, the original Constitution is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
