Jonah Patel
The US Constitution, the oldest written national constitution in use, is composed of a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. The original document, on display in Washington, D.C., contains 4,543 words, including the signatures of 39 of the 55 delegates representing the states. The first 52 words of the Constitution introduce the articles and amendments that follow. The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of words | 4,543 |
| Number of articles | 7 |
| Number of amendments | 27 |
| First 10 amendments known as | Bill of Rights |
| Number of signatures | 39 |
| Number of delegates | 55 |
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What You'll Learn
The US Constitution is 4,543 words long
The Constitution was written in the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by 55 delegates to a Constitutional Convention. The drafting of the Constitution, often referred to as its framing, was completed at the Constitutional Convention, which assembled at Independence Hall in Philadelphia between May 25 and September 17, 1787. Delegates to the convention were chosen by the state legislatures of 12 of the 13 original states; Rhode Island refused to send delegates. The convention's initial mandate was limited to amending the Articles of Confederation, which had been the country's first written constitution.
The Constitution was the product of long and often contentious debates over issues such as states' rights, representation, and slavery. The authors of the Constitution were heavily influenced by the country's experience under the Articles of Confederation, which had attempted to retain as much independence and sovereignty for the states as possible while assigning only nationally important functions to the central government. However, the events of 1781 to 1787, including the national government's inability to act during Shays' Rebellion in Massachusetts, highlighted the shortcomings of the Articles. It was recognized that the Articles deprived the national government of essential powers, including direct taxation and the ability to regulate interstate commerce.
The Constitution has been amended 27 times since its ratification. The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791. These amendments detail the rights of individuals and the powers of the government. For example, the 11th Amendment establishes limits on the power of the judiciary, while the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and courts established by the Constitution regulate the government under it.
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There are 27 amendments
The US Constitution is made up of a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments, ratified in 1791, are known as the Bill of Rights.
Since the Constitution was enacted in 1789, there have been 27 amendments, with approximately 11,848 proposals to amend the document introduced in Congress. The process of amending the Constitution is detailed in Article Five, which outlines a two-step process requiring proposals to be properly proposed and ratified before becoming operative. Amendments can be proposed by Congress or a national convention called by Congress on the application of two-thirds of state legislatures.
The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified simultaneously and form part of the structural constitution. These amendments were designed to prevent misconstruction or abuse of the Constitution's powers and extend the ground of public confidence in the government.
The remaining 17 amendments were ratified individually over time. For example, Amendment XI, passed by Congress in 1794 and ratified in 1795, modified Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution, clarifying the judicial power of the United States. Amendment XII, passed in 1803 and ratified in 1804, superseded a portion of Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution.
The process of amending the US Constitution is a rigorous one, with the Supreme Court affirming Congress's authority to set ratification deadlines in the 1939 Coleman v. Miller case. While there have been many proposals, no amendments proposed in recent decades have been successful.
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The first 10 are the Bill of Rights
The US Constitution is composed of a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments, ratified on December 15, 1791, are known as the Bill of Rights. James Madison wrote these amendments to limit government power and protect individual liberties.
The First Amendment protects the freedom of speech, assembly, and petition of the government. It also prohibits the government from establishing a religion or abridging freedom of speech. The Second Amendment outlines the right to bear arms, and the Third Amendment states that no soldier shall be quartered in a house without the owner's consent, except in cases prescribed by law.
The Fourth Amendment safeguards citizens' right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion in their homes, requiring a warrant for search and arrest. The Fifth Amendment provides several protections for people accused of crimes, including the right against self-incrimination and the right to due process of law. It also states that a person cannot be tried twice for the same offence (double jeopardy) and protects against excessive fines and cruel and unusual punishment.
The Sixth Amendment provides additional protections for people accused of crimes, including the right to a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, and the right to one's own witnesses. The Seventh Amendment extends the right to a jury trial in Federal civil cases, while the Eighth Amendment bars excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment.
The Ninth Amendment states that the listing of specific rights in the Constitution does not deny other rights retained by the people, and the Tenth Amendment affirms that the Federal Government only has the powers delegated to it by the Constitution.
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The 19th Amendment gave women the vote
The US Constitution is made up of a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. The first 52 words of the Constitution introduce the articles and amendments that follow. The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, was one such amendment that granted women the right to vote.
The road to women's suffrage was long and arduous, taking nearly a century of conferences, protests, and hunger strikes. Women organized, petitioned, and picketed to win the right to vote, facing fierce resistance from opponents. The campaign for women's suffrage was closely tied to the anti-slavery movement, with Black and white suffragists working together as allies. Despite this, the women's suffrage movement experienced tensions and fractures over race, particularly with the introduction of the 15th Amendment, which theoretically enfranchised Black men but not women.
The first women's suffrage amendment was introduced in Congress in 1878 but was rejected in 1887. In the 1890s, suffrage organizations focused on a national amendment while still working at the state and local levels. By 1912, nine western states had adopted women's suffrage legislation. On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and two weeks later, the Senate followed. Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, marking the final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states.
The 19th Amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote and prohibits the United States and its states from denying the right to vote based on sex. However, it should be noted that in practice, the Amendment only gave white women the right to vote. Black women, Native American women, and women from other racial and ethnic minority groups continued to face discrimination and were only afforded voting rights protections with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
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The 13th Amendment abolished slavery
The US Constitution is composed of a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and changed a portion of Article IV, Section 2. It was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865.
The 13th Amendment states:
> Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
The 13th Amendment was necessary because the Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln in January 1863, did not end slavery entirely. The proclamation did not free those enslaved in border states, nor did it address the issue of slavery in territories that would become states in the future. Lincoln and other leaders realised that amending the Constitution was the only way to officially end slavery.
While the 13th Amendment ended slavery and began the long-term goal of achieving equality for all Americans, it did not end discrimination against those who had been enslaved.
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Frequently asked questions
The US Constitution is 4,543 words long, including the signatures of 39 of the 55 delegates representing the states.
There have been 27 amendments to the US Constitution, beginning with the Bill of Rights, which consists of the first 10 amendments.
The US Constitution is the oldest written national constitution in use. It defines the principal organs of government and their jurisdictions and the basic rights of citizens. It is composed of the Preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments.
