United States Constitution

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Page one of the original copy of the Constitution.

The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. It was adopted in its original form on September 23, 1788 by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and later ratified by the people in conventions in each state in the name of "We the People." [1][2]

The Constitution has a central place in American law and political culture. [3] It is the oldest constitution in effect in the world. [4] An engrossed copy of the document is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Contents

Background

Drafting and ratification

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Ratification of the Constitution
  Date State Votes
Yes No
1 December 7, 1787 Delaware 30 0
2 December 12, 1787 Pennsylvania 46 23
3 December 18, 1787 New Jersey 38 0
4 January 2, 1788 Georgia 26 0
5 January 9, 1788 Connecticut 128 40
6 February 6, 1788 Massachusetts 187 168
7 April 28, 1788 Maryland 63 11
8 May 23, 1788 South Carolina 149 73
9 June 21, 1788 New Hampshire 57 47
10 June 25, 1788 Virginia 89 79
11 July 26, 1788 New York 30 27
12 November 21, 1789 North Carolina 194 77
13 May 29, 1790 Rhode Island 34 32

On September 1786, commissioners from five states met in the Annapolis Convention to discuss adjustments to the Articles of Confederation that would improve commerce. They invited state representatives to convene in Philadelphia to discuss improvements to the federal government. After debate, the Confederation Congress endorsed the plan to revise the Articles of Confederation on February 21, 1787. Twelve states, Rhode Island being the only exception, accepted this invitation and sent delegates to convene in May 1787. The resolution calling the Convention specified its purpose was to propose amendments to the Articles, but the Convention decided to propose a rewritten Constitution. The Philadelphia Convention voted to keep deliberations secret and decided to draft a new fundamental government design which eventually stipulated that only 9 of the 13 states would have to ratify for the new government to go into effect (for the participating states).

Work of Philadelphia convention

The Virginia Plan was the unofficial agenda for the Convention, drafted chiefly by James Madison. It was weighted toward the interests of the larger states and proposed among other points:

  • A powerful bicameral legislature with House and Senate
  • An executive (president) chosen by the legislature
  • A judiciary, with life-terms of service and vague powers
  • The national legislature would be able to veto state laws

An alternative proposal, the New Jersey Plan, gave states equal weights and was supported by the smaller states. Roger Sherman of Connecticut brokered The Great Compromise whereby the House would represent population, the Senate would represent states, and a powerful president would be elected by elite electors. Slavery was not explicitly mentioned but 3/5 of the number of slaves would be counted toward the population used to apportion the House, and runaway slaves would have to be returned.

Ratification

Congress unanimously submitted the proposal to the states and set the terms for representation.

Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia

On September 17, 1787, the Constitution was completed in Philadelphia, followed by a speech given by Benjamin Franklin who urged unanimity, although they decided they only needed nine states to ratify the constitution for it to go into effect.

After fierce fights over ratification in many of the states, New Hampshire became that ninth state on June 21, 1788. Once the Congress of the Confederation received word of New Hampshire's ratification, it set a timetable for the start of operations under the Constitution, and, on March 4, 1789, the government under the Constitution began operations.

In 1957 the American Bar Association acknowledged the debt American law and constitutionalism had to the Magna Carta by erecting a monument at Runnymede, England.

Historical influences

Several of the ideas in the Constitution were new, and that a large number of ideas were drawn from the literature of Republicanism in the United States, from the experiences of the 13 states, and from the British experience with mixed government. The most important influence from the European continent was from Montesquieu, who emphasized the need to have balanced forces pushing against each other to prevent tyranny. (This in itself reflects the influence of Polybius' second century BC treatise on the checks and balances of the constitution of the Roman Republic). John Locke is known to be a mild influence, and the due process clause of the United States Constitution was partly based on common law stretching back to the Magna Carta of 1215.

United States Bill of Rights.

Bill of Rights

The United States Bill of Rights were the ten amendments added to the Constitution in 1791, as the supporters had promised opponents during the debates of 1788. The English Bill of Rights (1689) was an inspiration for the American Bill of Rights. For example, both require jury trials, contain a right to bear arms, and prohibit excessive bail as well as “cruel and unusual punishments”. Many liberties protected by state constitutions and the Virginia Declaration of Rights were incorporated into the United States Bill of Rights.

Articles of the Constitution

The Constitution comprises seven original articles and twenty-seven amendments.

Preamble

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The Preamble states: Template:Cquote

The Preamble neither grants any powers nor inhibits any actions; it only explains the rationale behind the Constitution. The preamble is a basic statement of purpose that precedes the constitution. The Preamble, especially the first three words ("We the people"), is one of the most quoted and referenced sections of the Constitution. Indeed, they are, perhaps, the three most important words in the constitution, as they denote that the constitution came not from a king, or an emperor, but from the people themselves.

Article One: Legislative power

Template:MainArticle One establishes the legislative branch of government, U.S. Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Article establishes the manner of election and qualifications of members of each House. In addition, it provides for free debate in congress and limits self-serving behavior of congressmen, outlines legislative procedure and indicates the powers of the legislative branch. There is a debate as to whether the powers listed in Article 1 Section 8 are a list of enumerated powers. These powers may also be interpreted as a list of powers formerly either executive or judicial in nature, that have been explicitly granted to the U.S. Congress. This interpretation may be further supported by a broad definition of both the commerce clause, and the necessary and proper clause of the Constitution. The argument for enumerated powers can be traced back to 1819 McCulloch v. Maryland United States Supreme Court ruling. Finally, it establishes limits on federal and state legislative power.

Article Two: Executive power

Template:MainArticle Two describes the presidency (the executive branch): procedures for the selection of the president, qualifications for office, the oath to be affirmed and the powers and duties of the office. It also provides for the office of Vice President of the United States, and specifies that the Vice President succeeds to the presidency if the President is incapacitated, dies, or resigns, although whether this succession was on an acting or permanent basis was left unclear. In practice, this has always been treated as succession, and the 25th Amendment provides explicitly for succession.

Article Two also provides for the impeachment and removal from office of civil officers (the President, Vice President, judges, and others).

Article Three: Judicial power

Template:MainArticle Three describes the court system (the judicial branch), including the Supreme Court. The article requires that there be one court called the Supreme Court; Congress, at its discretion, can create lower courts, whose judgments and orders are reviewable by the Supreme Court. Article Three also requires trial by jury in all criminal cases, defines the crime of treason, and charges F Congress U with C providing K for a Y punishment O for U it, while imposing limits on that punishment.

Article Four: States' powers and limits

Template:MainArticle Four describes the relationship between the states and the Federal government, and amongst the states. For instance, it requires states to give "full faith and credit" to the public acts, records and court proceedings of the other states. Congress is permitted to regulate the manner in which proof of such acts, records or proceedings may be admitted. The "privileges and immunities" clause prohibits state governments from discriminating against citizens of other states in favor of resident citizens (e.g., having tougher penalties for residents of Ohio convicted of crimes within Michigan). It also establishes extradition between the states, as well as laying down a legal basis for freedom of movement and travel amongst the states. Today, this provision is sometimes taken for granted, especially by citizens who live near state borders; but in the days of the Articles of Confederation, crossing state lines was often a much more arduous (and costly) process. Article Four also provides for the creation and admission of new states. The Territorial Clause gives Congress the power to make rules for disposing of Federal property and governing non-state territories of the United States. Finally, the fourth section of Article Four requires the United States to guarantee to each state a republican form of government, and to protect the states from invasion and violence.

Article Five: Process of Amendments

Template:MainArticle Five describes the process necessary to amend the Constitution. It establishes two methods of proposing amendments: by Congress or by a national convention requested by the states. Under the first method, Congress can propose an amendment by a two-thirds vote (of a quorum, not necessarily of the entire body) of the Senate and of the House of Representatives. Under the second method, two-thirds (2/3) of the state legislatures may convene and "apply" to Congress to hold a national convention, whereupon Congress must call such a convention for the purpose of considering amendments. As of 2006, only the first method (proposal by Congress) has been used.

Once proposed—whether submitted by Congress or by a national convention—amendments must then be ratified by three-fourths (3/4) of the states to take effect. Article Five gives Congress the option of requiring ratification by state legislatures or by special conventions assembled in the states. The convention method of ratification has been used only once (to approve the 21st Amendment). Article Five currently places only one limitation on the amending power—that no amendment can deprive a state of its equal representation in the Senate without that state's consent.

Article Six: Federal power

Template:MainArticle Six establishes the Constitution, and the laws and treaties of the United States made in accordance with it, to be the supreme law of the land, and that "the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the laws or constitutions of any state notwithstanding." It also validates national debt created under the Articles of Confederation and requires that all legislators, federal officers, and judges take oaths or affirmations to "support" the Constitution. This means that the states' constitutions and laws should not conflict with the laws of the federal constitution-- and that in case of a conflict, state judges are legally bound to honor the federal laws and constitution over those of any state.

Article Six also states that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States".

Article Seven: Ratification

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Article Seven sets forth the requirements for ratification of the Constitution. The Constitution would not take effect until at least nine states had ratified the Constitution in state conventions specially convened for that purpose. (See above Drafting and ratification.)

Original pages of the Constitution

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Page 1
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Page 2
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Page 3
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Page 4
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Signatures

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Bailyn, Bernard, ed. The Debate on the Constitution: Federalist and Antifederalist Speeches, Articles, and Letters During the Struggle for Ratification. Part One: September 1787 to February 1788 (The Library of America, 1993) ISBN 0-940450-42-9
  • Bailyn, Bernard, ed. The Debate on the Constitution: Federalist and Antifederalist Speeches, Articles, and Letters During the Struggle for Ratification. Part Two: January to August 1788 (The Library of America, 1993) ISBN 0-940450-64-X
  • Garvey, John H. ed. Modern Constitutional Theory: A Reader 5th ed 2004; 820pp.
  • Mason, Alpheus Thomas and Donald Grier Stephenson, ed. American Constitutional Law: Introductory Essays and Selected Cases (14th Edition) (2004)
  • Tribe, Laurence H. American Constitutional Law (1999)

Reference Books

  • Hall, Kermit, ed. The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. Oxford U. Press, 1992. 1032 pp.
  • Levy, Leonard W. et al., ed. Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. 5 vol; 1992; 3000 pp
  • US Law Dictionary

Secondary sources

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  • Anastaplo, George, "Reflections on Constitutional Law" 2006 ISBN 0-8131-9156-4
  • Beard, Charles. An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, 1913.
  • Richard R. Beeman, Stephen Botein, and Edward C., Carter, II, eds., Beyond Confederation: Origins of the Constitution and American National Identity (University of North Carolina Press, 1987);
  • Gregory Casey. "The Supreme Court and Myth: An Empirical Investigation," Law & Society Review, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Spring, 1974), pp. 385-420 online in JSTOR
  • Countryman, Edward, ed. What Did the Constitution Mean to Early Americans.Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. xii + 169 pp. online review ISBN 0-312-18262-7.
  • Template:Cite book
  • Ely, James W., Jr. The Guardian of Every Other Right: A Constitutional History of Property Rights. Oxford U. Press, 1992. 193 pp.
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  • Finkelman, Paul Slavery and the Founders: Race and Slavery in the Age of Jefferson (M.E. Sharpe, 1996);
  • Hoffer, Peter Charles. The Law's Conscience: Equitable Constitutionalism in America U. of North Carolina Press, 1990. 301 pp.
  • Irons, Peter. A People's History of the Supreme Court. 2000. 542 pp.
  • Template:Cite book
  • Template:Cite book
  • Kersch, Ken I. Constructing Civil Liberties: Discontinuities in the Development of American Constitutional Law. Cambridge U. Press, 2004. 392 pp.
  • Kyvig, David E. Explicit and Authentic Acts: Amending the U.S. Constitution, 1776-1995. U. Press of Kansas, 1996. 604 pp.
  • Levin, Daniel Lessard. Representing Popular Sovereignty: The Constitution in American Political Culture. State U. of New York Press., 1999. 283 pp.
  • Licht, Robert A., ed. The Framers and Fundamental Rights. American Enterprise Inst. Press, 1991. 194 pp.
  • Marshall, Thurgood, "The Constitution: A Living Document," Howard Law Journal 1987: 623-28.
  • Powell, H. Jefferson. A Community Built on Words: The Constitution in History and Politics. U. of Chicago Press, 2002. 251 pp.
  • Rakove, Jack N. Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution. Knopf, 1996. 455 pp.
  • Sandoz, Ellis. A Government of Laws: Political Theory, Religion, and the American Founding. Louisiana State U. Press, 1990. 259 pp.
  • Sheldon, Charles H. Essentials of Constitutional Law: The Supreme Court and the Fundamental Law (2001) 208 pp
  • VanBurkleo, Sandra F.; Hall, Kermit L.; and Kaczorowski, Robert J., eds. Constitutionalism and American Culture: Writing the New Constitutional History. U. Press of Kansas, 2002. 464 pp.
  • Template:Cite journal
  • Template:Cite book
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  • White, G. Edward. The Constitution and the New Deal.Harvard U. Press, 2000. 385 pp.
  • Wiecek, William M., "The Witch at the Christening: Slavery and the Constitution's Origins," Leonard W. Levy and Dennis J. Mahoney, eds., The Framing and Ratification of the Constitution (Macmillan, 1987), 178-84.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ http://www.constitution.org/cons/constitu.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Constitution.html
  3. ↑ Casey (1974)
  4. ↑ The Guinness Book of World Records (1998) p. 228

External links

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National Archives

Official U.S. government sources

Non-government web sites

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