Malcolm Rivera
The Constitution of the United States was signed on September 17, 1787, after three months of debate. The Civil War took place in the mid-19th century, during the administrations of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and Ulysses S. Grant. Thus, the Constitution was written before the Civil War. The Constitution was amended several times after the Civil War, including the Thirteenth Amendment (1865), which abolished slavery; the Fourteenth Amendment (1868), which granted citizenship to former slaves; and the Fifteenth Amendment (1870), which prohibited the use of race, colour, or previous conditions of servitude in determining voting rights. During the Civil War, the Confederate States of America also had their own constitution, which was established in 1861.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of signing | September 17, 1787 |
| Number of signatures | 39 |
| Amendments | 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th |
| Purpose | To replace the Articles of Confederation, which were considered inadequate |
| Location of signing | Philadelphia |
| Number of states at the time | 13 |
| Post-Civil War Amendments | 13th, 14th, 15th |
| Civil War | American Civil War |
| Date of the Civil War | Mid-19th century |
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What You'll Learn
The Constitution was signed in 1787
The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 delegates, with George Reed signing on behalf of John Dickinson of Delaware, bringing the total number of signatures to 39. The signing of the Constitution took place after three months of heated debate, during which a Committee of Detail was appointed to put the decisions in writing, and a Committee of Style and Arrangement condensed 23 articles into seven in less than four days. The Constitution was an extraordinary achievement, creating a powerful central government and crafting compromises between wildly differing interests and views.
The Constitution was written a few years after the Revolutionary War, as James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington feared that the young country was on the brink of collapse. America's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, gave the Confederation Congress rule-making and funding powers, but it lacked enforcement powers, the ability to regulate commerce, and the ability to print money. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the country apart. Alexander Hamilton helped convince Congress to organize a Grand Convention of state delegates to revise the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787.
The Constitution set up a bicameral legislature, with law enactment requiring national majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. At the time of ratification, the Constitution balanced the states equally regarding slavery in the Senate, with six states north of Pennsylvania and six states south. However, the House of Representatives was nearly equal, and the decennial census reallocated power away from declining slave economies.
The Constitution underwent amendments after the Civil War to address the status of former slaves and protect their rights. The Thirteenth Amendment (1865) abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, and the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) granted citizenship to former slaves and imposed limits on state power. The Fifteenth Amendment (1870) prohibited the use of race, colour, or previous servitude as criteria for voting, advancing the civil rights of former slaves.
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The Articles of Confederation
The creation of the U.S. Constitution was prompted by fears that the young country was on the brink of collapse. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington were among those who believed that the central government had insufficient power to regulate commerce, tax, or set commercial policy. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the country apart.
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The Civil War and Reconstruction Amendments
The Constitution of the United States was signed on September 17, 1787, and the Civil War took place in the mid-19th century, during the administrations of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and Ulysses S. Grant. Thus, the Constitution was written long before the Civil War.
The Reconstruction Amendments, also known as the Civil War Amendments, are the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution. These amendments were adopted between 1865 and 1870, in the five years immediately following the Civil War. They were a part of the implementation of the Reconstruction of the American South, which aimed to transform the United States from a country that was "half slave and half free" to one in which the blessings of liberty were extended to all.
The 13th Amendment, proposed in 1864 and ratified in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The 14th Amendment, proposed in 1866 and ratified in 1868, addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws for all persons. It also eliminates the three-fifths rule, which factored the enslaved population into the total population count for the purposes of apportioning seats in the House of Representatives and direct taxes. The 15th Amendment, proposed in 1869 and ratified in 1870, prohibits discrimination in voting rights based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
These amendments were intended to guarantee the freedom and certain civil rights of the formerly enslaved, as well as to protect them and all citizens of the United States from discrimination. They provided the constitutional basis for federal legislation such as the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875 and the Enforcement Acts of 1870-71, which aimed to end slavery, ensure full citizenship, civil rights, and voting rights for freed African Americans, and address the growing violence and intimidation against them in the South.
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The Confederate Constitution
The Constitution of the Confederate States was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America. It superseded the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States, the Confederate State's first constitution, in 1862. The Confederate Constitution was approved on March 11, 1861, by delegates from the newly formed Confederate States of America. It was drawn up and approved just a week after Abraham Lincoln became president of the United States.
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The US Constitution's impact on civil rights
The US Constitution was written in 1787, almost a century before the Civil War, which took place in the mid-19th century. The Constitution has had a significant impact on civil rights in the US, both directly and indirectly.
The Constitution established a bicameral legislature, which means that for a law to be enacted, there must be a national majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. At the time of the Constitution's ratification, this balanced the states equally in relation to slavery in the Senate, with six states north of Pennsylvania and six states south of it. This balance between free-soil states and slave-holding states was maintained as new states entered the Union.
The Constitution also addressed the issue of representation in the House of Representatives, which was based on the decennial census. This reallocated power away from declining slave-based economies and towards areas with larger populations.
In the 19th century, the Constitution was used to justify the defence of slavery. For example, South Carolina objected to the federal duties collected in Charleston Harbor, known as the "tariff of abominations". This led to the Nullification Crisis, during which John C. Calhoun, a senator from South Carolina, defended slavery against Constitutional provisions that allowed for its regulation or abolition.
However, the Constitution also played a role in advancing civil rights. The 14th Amendment, passed in 1866 and ratified in 1868, extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people. It granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States" and stated that no state could deprive any person of "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law".
In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended the application of "Jim Crow" laws, which had upheld racial segregation as "separate but equal". This Act was a response to President John Kennedy's call for a comprehensive civil rights bill, and it remains a benchmark in civil rights legislation.
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Frequently asked questions
The US Constitution was written in 1787.
The US Constitution was written to replace the Articles of Confederation, which gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn’t regulate commerce, or print money.
After the US Constitution was written, it was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 delegates. It is one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world.
At the time the US Constitution was ratified, it balanced states equally relative to slavery in the Senate. The Thirteenth Amendment (1865) abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime, and authorized Congress to enforce abolition.
The Constitution of the Confederate States of America was written in 1861. It outlines the establishment of a permanent federal government, the insuring of domestic tranquility, and the securing of liberty for the people of the Confederate States.
