The Power To Change The Constitution

The Constitution of the United States has been amended 27 times since it came into effect in 1789. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, protect individual liberty and justice and restrict the powers of the government. The Bill of Rights was ratified by the states and was largely the work of Alexander Hamilton, who wrote a series of essays known as the Federalist Papers, which advocated for a stronger national government. The process of amending the Constitution involves ratification by three-fourths of the states, and the amendments are appended to the original document.

Explore related products

The Constitutional Convention: A Narrative History from the Notes of James Madison (Modern Library Classics)

$12.95 $22

Miracle At Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention May - September 1787

$10.55 $19.99

The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates (Signet Classics)

$8.32 $8.95

The Constitution of the United States and The Declaration of Independence

$1.99 $14.95

The Constitutional Convention: A History Just for Kids

$13.99 $13.99

Constitution of the United States and The Declaration of Independence: Senator Rand Paul, Delegates of The Constitutional Convention

$2.99 $2.99

The Bill of Rights

The Federalist leadership faced little opposition, which was largely disorganized and led by state-centric men with regional interests and loyalties. The Bill of Rights was passed in the US House of Representatives, and it took over 100 years for state governments to abide by almost every provision in the Bill.

The first ten amendments in the Bill of Rights offer protections against state and federal actions, such as prohibiting state governments from depriving any person of "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law". The Fourteenth Amendment, for example, was intended to provide federal protection of individual rights against the states. The Supreme Court has also played a role in expanding specific parts of the Bill of Rights to protect citizens, a process known as "incorporation".

Federalist Papers

The Federalist Papers were a series of 85 essays, most of which were written by Alexander Hamilton, with contributions from John Jay and Madison. Published in late 1787, the essays were a counterattack to a series of essays signed "Cato", which had criticised the New York Constitution. The Federalist Papers examined the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and argued for the need for a strong national government.

The authors of the Federalist Papers believed that an effective central government with a broad range of enforceable powers was required to replace the weaker Congress established by the Articles of Confederation. This belief was shared by other influential figures such as Alexander Hamilton, who advocated for a strong central government during the Philadelphia Convention. The Federalist Papers also supported the idea of proportional representation, which was a concern for less populous states, as under the Articles, they had the same power as larger states.

The essays were instrumental in shaping the political landscape of the time, with Thomas Jefferson calling them the "best commentary on the principles of government ever written." The Federalist Papers contributed to the formation of the United States Constitution, which became operational in 1789. The Constitution has since been amended 27 times, with the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, offering specific protections of individual liberty and justice and restricting the powers of the government within US states.

The Federalist Papers played a crucial role in the development of the United States' constitutional framework and continue to be studied as an important historical document. They reflect the complex political debates and compromises that shaped the country's founding principles and governance.

State constitutions

The Constitution of the United States was drafted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress, which was convened in Philadelphia between 1774 and 1781. The delegates were largely chosen from the revolutionary committees of correspondence in various colonies. The Second Continental Congress functioned as the provisional government of the United States. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, drafted by a committee appointed by the Congress in 1777, was the first constitution of the United States. The Articles gave little power to the central government.

The delegates to the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, which included George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, were generally convinced that an effective central government with a wide range of enforceable powers must replace the weaker Congress established by the Articles of Confederation. The convention addressed the issue of proportional representation, which was of concern to less populous states. The delegates agreed to protect the slave trade, allowing states to count three-fifths of their slaves as part of their populations for representation in the federal government. The Connecticut Compromise proposed a Congress with proportional representation in the lower house and equal representation in the upper house, with each state having two senators.

The Constitution has been amended 27 times since it became operational in 1789. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, offer protections of individual liberty and justice and restrict the powers of the government within the U.S. states. The majority of the 17 later amendments expand individual civil rights protections, while others address federal authority or modify government processes. Amendments are appended to the Constitution and become operative as soon as they are ratified by three-fourths of the states.

The Fourteenth Amendment was intended to provide federal protection of individual rights against the states. The Due Process Clause has been used to invalidate state laws that violate rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, such as same-sex marriage prohibitions. However, this has raised concerns about "judicial activism" and the potential for Supreme Court justices to make laws based on their personal policy preferences.

Explore related products

The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Constructing the American Republic (Reacting to the Past™)

$28.49 $32.5

Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787

$35 $34.99

Decision in Philadelphia: The Constitutional Convention of 1787

$18 $18

The Selling of the Constitutional Convention: A History of News Coverage (Culture)

$44.73 $52

Madison’s Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention

$26 $26

The Constitutional Convention: Core Documents

$0.99

The Articles of Confederation

The weaknesses of the Articles became apparent over time, particularly during the economic crisis that followed the Revolutionary War. The central government lacked the power to regulate commerce, standardize currency, or effectively collect taxes. The Articles also did not provide a mechanism for resolving disputes between states or between citizens and the state governments.

In 1787, delegates from 12 states (with Rhode Island refusing to participate) met in Philadelphia to address the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation and to draft a new constitution. This convention resulted in the creation of the United States Constitution, which replaced the Articles of Confederation as the supreme law of the land. The new Constitution established a stronger central government with a system of checks and balances, a three-branch structure, and a process for amending the document.

The electoral college

The process of electing the President of the United States is laid out in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution. The Electoral College is not mentioned in the Constitution but was established by the 12th Amendment, which was ratified in 1804. The 12th Amendment also changed the way that electors cast their votes, requiring them to cast separate votes for President and Vice President, instead of two votes for President.

There have been numerous attempts to reform or abolish the Electoral College throughout US history. The most recent effort was in 2021, when a group of Democratic lawmakers introduced a joint resolution in Congress to abolish the Electoral College and elect the president by a national popular vote. However, this resolution is unlikely to pass, as it would require a constitutional amendment, which must be approved by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and three-fourths of the state legislatures.

Frequently asked questions