Eleanor Finch
The United States Constitution is the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force globally. It was written in 1787, a few years after the Revolutionary War, by 38 delegates (with one additional signature by George Reed on behalf of John Dickinson of Delaware) who aimed to revise the Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution. The delegates, representing diverse interests and views, crafted compromises to create a powerful central government, addressing concerns about centralized power and loyalty to individual states. The Constitution's first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, dividing the federal government into the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The writing of the US Constitution marked a significant step forward in the evolution of governance and the protection of individual liberties.
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What You'll Learn
The Articles of Confederation
Under the Articles, the states retained sovereignty over all governmental functions not specifically relinquished to the national Congress, which was empowered to make war and peace, negotiate diplomatic and commercial agreements with foreign countries, and resolve disputes between the states. However, the central government had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, and couldn't print money.
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The Revolutionary War
The war was the culmination of escalating disputes and tensions between the British and the Thirteen Colonies, which arose after the British Empire gained dominance in North America following its victory over the French in the Seven Years' War in 1763. The Stamp and Townshend Acts further exacerbated these tensions, leading to the Boston Massacre in March 1770. In mid-1774, the British Parliament imposed the Intolerable Acts, an attempt to disarm Americans, which led to the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775—the first battles of the Revolutionary War.
In June 1775, the Second Continental Congress voted to incorporate colonial-based Patriot militias into a central military, the Continental Army, and appointed George Washington as its commander-in-chief. By June 1776, with the war in full swing, a majority of colonists favoured independence from Britain. On 4 July 1776, the Continental Congress voted to adopt the Declaration of Independence, which had been drafted by a committee including Franklin and John Adams, and written mainly by Thomas Jefferson.
The British responded by sending a large fleet and over 34,000 troops to New York in August 1776. The Continental Army suffered a defeat on Long Island, and Washington was forced to evacuate his troops from New York City. However, he launched a successful surprise attack in Trenton, New Jersey, on Christmas night, followed by another victory at Princeton. In February 1778, an expedition of militia to destroy British military supplies along the Cuyahoga River was halted by adverse weather. Later that year, France entered the war on the side of the colonists, turning the civil war into an international conflict.
The decisive victory for the Continental Army came in September and October 1781, when British General Cornwallis was besieged and forced to surrender in Yorktown by a Franco-American force. This effectively won the Americans their independence, although fighting continued until 1783. The Treaty of Paris, ratified on 3 September 1783, acknowledged the sovereignty and independence of the United States, bringing the war to an end.
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The Constitutional Convention
The delegates to the convention, representing different interests and views, created a model of government that relied on a series of checks and balances by dividing federal authority between the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. They debated key issues such as the role of the executive, the powers of the president, the impeachment process, and the issue of slavery. The convention ultimately resulted in the creation and ratification of the United States Constitution, making it one of the most significant events in American history.
On September 17, 1787, 38 delegates signed the Constitution, with George Reed signing on behalf of John Dickinson of Delaware, bringing the total number of signatures to 39. The ratification process was not without challenges, as the Federalists, who supported a strong central government, had to convince at least three states to ratify the Constitution, facing opposition from the Anti-Federalists who feared the concentration of power in the central government. The Constitution came into effect in 1789 and has served as the basis of the United States Government ever since, becoming one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world.
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Separation of powers
The United States Constitution is based on the principle of separation of powers, which is a political doctrine that advocates for a constitutional government with three distinct branches, each with defined authority to check the powers of the others. This philosophy was first introduced by Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, in his work "The Spirit of the Laws", where he argued for the separation of the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary.
The Framers of the Constitution, influenced by Montesquieu's writings, believed that separating the powers of government into three branches was necessary to safeguard against tyranny and arbitrary government action. This belief was informed by their experience with the British monarchy, where the concentration of power in a single entity could lead to oppressive rule. Thus, the Constitution divides the government's powers among the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches, with each branch having specific functions and autonomy while also being interdependent on the others.
The Legislative Power of the Federal Government is vested in Congress, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Congress is responsible for making laws and has the authority to prescribe regulations, such as the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The Executive Power is vested in the President, who is the civilian Commander-in-Chief of the military and has the power to take appropriate military action in sudden crises. However, Congress holds the power to declare war and raise, fund, and maintain the armed forces. The Judicial Power is vested in the Supreme Court and any lower courts created by Congress, which interpret the laws and determine their constitutionality.
The system of separation of powers includes checks and balances, where each branch has the ability to "check" the actions of the other two. For example, while Congress makes the laws, the President can veto them, and the Supreme Court can declare them unconstitutional. Similarly, the President enforces the law, but Congress must approve executive appointments, and the Supreme Court can rule on the constitutionality of executive actions. This system ensures that no one branch holds more power than another and that they work together to serve the needs of the people.
While the Constitution does not explicitly mention the term "separation of powers", the division of powers among the three branches and the system of checks and balances demonstrate the Framers' intention to uphold this doctrine.
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The Bill of Rights
The United States Constitution, written in 1787, was the second attempt at establishing a functional and unified national government, the first being the Articles of Confederation, which gave individual states too much power and autonomy. The writers of the Constitution, including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, sought to create a stronger central government, but one that still respected the rights of its citizens.
The Constitution was written with the future in mind, as it was designed to be a living document that could be amended over time. The writers of the Constitution knew that the country would change and evolve, and that the document would need to change with it. This is why the process of amending the Constitution is outlined in Article V.
However, the Constitution, as originally written, did not include a Bill of Rights, which was a major point of contention. The Anti-Federalists, who wanted power to remain with state and local governments, opposed the Constitution because it created a powerful central government and lacked a bill of rights. George Mason, one of the delegates, refused to sign the Constitution because of this omission. He and others believed that a bill of rights was necessary to safeguard individual liberty.
James Madison, initially an opponent of the Bill of Rights, eventually introduced a list of amendments to the Constitution on June 8, 1789, which became known as the Bill of Rights. Madison recognized the importance voters attached to these protections and the role that enshrining them in the Constitution could play in educating people about their rights. The Bill of Rights was strongly influenced by the Virginia Declaration of Rights, also written by George Mason, as well as English documents such as the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, and the Massachusetts Body of Liberties.
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Frequently asked questions
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. The states’ disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart.
Fifty-five men from 12 different states gathered in Philadelphia in May 1787 to write the US Constitution. On September 17, 1787, 38 delegates signed the Constitution, bringing the total number of signatures to 39.
The US Constitution delineates the frame of the federal government, which is divided into three branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. It also embodies the doctrine of the separation of powers and includes "declarations of rights".
The US Constitution is the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force in the world. It has been amended several times and remains a living document. It has also inspired other countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand, to adopt constitutional provisions.
