The U.S. Constitution January 27, 2014

What is a constitution? A constitution is a document that embodies the fundamental principles of a government of a nation. It outlines its laws, institutions, and customs. A constitution can often be labeled as “flexible” or “living” because it can be changed by an act of congress, or an amendment. Most countries in the world have a written constitution, often based on the U.S., British, or French constitutions.

Writing the U.S. Constitution The U.S. Constitution was written at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. It was written to fix the weaknesses that were present in the Articles of Confederation All states except Rhode Island sent delegates to the convention to help decide the content of the constitution However, many arguments ensued, and some delegates were so angry that they left before the document was finished

Disagreements at the Convention The fundamental questions that needed to be decided were how much power the federal government should have and how the states would be a part of the federal government It turned into a battle between large states and small states Large states wanted representation based on population; small states wanted equal representation from all states Eventually, a compromise was reached where the legislature would be bicameral (two houses) with the House of Representatives decided based on population and the Senate being equal among the states The is called the Great Compromise

The Question of Slavery With population size being a deciding factor in the House of Representatives, the question of whether slaves counted or not was raised It was decided that three-fifths of the slave population should count towards the total population of a state (this is called The Three-Fifths Compromise) Other delegates wanted to abolish slavery altogether. Another compromise was reached that stated that the importation of slaves would be abolished, but not before 1808. Slavery itself was still legal.

Putting the Constitution into Effect When the document was signed in September 1787, it was sent to the states for ratification Nine states were required to ratify Some states seriously struggled with the decision Rhode Island and North Carolina actually rejected the Constitution and refused to ratify The ninth state, New Hampshire, finally ratified in June 1788 It went into effect in March 1789

Structure of the Constitution There is a preamble, 7 articles, and 27 amendments The first 10 amendments are collectively known as the Bill of Rights The Preamble states the purpose of the document Each article lays out the functions of each branch of government, as well as requirements for each job and the oath of office that they must take Each amendment changes the document in some way

The Preamble Outlines the purpose of the document “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, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

The Articles Article One: outlines the functions of the Legislative branch (Congress) Article Two: outlines the functions of the Executive branch (President and Vice President) Article Three: outlines the functions of the Judicial Branch (Supreme Court) Article Four: discusses the states and how they should work together and not discriminate against citizens of other states Article Five: provides instructions on how to amend the Constitution Article Six: provides the oath of office for members of the government Article Seven: declares the Constitution will go into effect when ratified by nine states

The Bill of Rights The first 10 amendments These were added within two years of the ratification of the Constitution They guarantee certain liberties and rights to the citizens of the U.S. (See attachment)

Other Amendments In addition to the Bill of Rights, there are 17 more amendments to the U.S. Constitution Some were brought on by Supreme Court decisions, others by changing ideals in the country, and others describe voting and election procedures, tax collection, and inauguration procedures for Presidents, Vice Presidents, and members of Congress No matter how an amendment is brought about, it takes three-fourths of the states to ratify before the amendment can go into effect (See attachment)

Questions 1. What is a constitution? 2. What does a constitution outline? 3. Where and when was the U.S. Constitution written? 4. Why was the Constitution written? 5. What fundamental questions needed to be addressed by the Constitution? 6. How did the delegates end up compromising on these questions? 7. What is the Three-Fifths Compromise? 8. When did the Constitution go into effect? 9. How many articles does the Constitution have? 10. How many amendments does the Constitution have?

More Questions 11. What are the first 10 amendments called? 12. What is the purpose of the preamble? 13. List each article and what it does. 14. What does the Bill of Rights guarantee? 15. How did some of the other amendments come about? 16. How many states must ratify before a new amendment can go into effect?