The Preamble – We the people of the United States, in order
to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.
Of course we are all familiar with those words. Depending on your age, you may even know by
heart the words from Schoolhouse Rock’s version.
On May 14th, 1787, a federal convention met at
Independence Hall in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation.
Unlike today where people can travel by car or plane and be somewhere quickly,
in the late 1700s, people had to travel by boat, horseback, or by foot to reach
Philadelphia. So, even though the
convention first met on May 14th, it wasn’t until May 25th
of that same month where enough people were present to have a quorum. Just like any time where a variety of people
join together to discuss something as important as revising the Articles of
Confederation, no one could agree completely on every item. So, what did they do? They had to rewrite the
entire thing – and therefore draft an entirely new framework for the growing
country to follow. Who worked on this
momentous document?
The men who worked on it were called THE FRAMERS.
When it came time to ratify the Constitution, only 9 states
had to agree for it to pass, but the men decided that ALL must agree or the
Constitution would not work. Two states
took a long time to finally decide to join the rest (Rhode Island and North
Carolina), but finally all agreed. One
of the biggest arguments revolved around the issue of slavery. The people who lived in the North wanted no
slavery, but the people in the South were afraid of losing it. They wanted each
state to have the right to choose on their own.
The Articles:
1.
The Legislative Branch – makes provisions for a
Senate and House of Representatives
2.
The Executive Branch – outlines the powers of
the President of the United States, how he should be elected, and how often he
will be elected.
3.
The Judicial Branch – outlines the powers of the
Supreme Court as well as the smaller courts around the country
4.
The States – outlines the powers of each state
and its citizens as well as how new states shall enter the union.
5.
Amendments – outlines how new amendments shall
be added to the Constitution
6.
Debts, supremacy, and oaths – all debts incurred
shall be paid, the constitution shall be the law of the land, and that all who
take office shall take an oath to support the constitution.
7.
Ratification – at least 9 states must ratify the
Constitution
The Amendments:
1.
Freedom of religion, press, and expression
2.
Right to bear arms
3.
Quartering of soldiers – no soldier shall be
quartered in a home without the consent of the owner
4.
Search and seizure – cannot search a home or
seize property without just compensation
5.
Trial and punishment – must be properly indicted
6.
Right to a speedy trial, confrontation of witnesses
7.
Trial by jury in civil cases
8.
Cruel and unusual punishment – cannot inflict
cruel or unusual punishment
9.
Construction of constitution
10.
Powers of the states and people
11.
Judicial limits
12.
Choosing the president, vice president
13.
Slavery abolished
14.
Citizenship rights
15.
Race no bar to vote
16.
Status of income tax clarified
17.
Senators elected by popular vote
18.
Liquor abolished
19.
Women’s right to vote
20.
Presidential, congressional terms
21.
Repeal of 18th amendment
22.
Presidential term limits
23.
Presidential vote for DC
24.
Poll tax ratified
25.
Presidential disability and succession
26.
Voting age set to 18 years old
27.
Limiting changes to congressional pay
Because the FRAMERS knew the Constitution was not perfect,
they included a provision to add amendments.
At first they wanted a Bill of Rights, which they finally got. The ten
changes were called “The Bill of Rights”.
After months of closed sessions, the men who gathered
finally came up with the Constitution.
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