Omar Bennett
The United States Constitution, the supreme law of the United States of America, was signed on September 17, 1787, by 39 delegates, officially endorsing the constitution created during the convention. The final document was a scroll 13 feet and 5 inches long, made up of six sheets of parchment stitched together. The Constitution superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789, and was not ratified by all states until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island finally approved the document.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of signing | September 17, 1787 |
| Number of delegates who signed | 39 |
| Number of sheets of parchment stitched together | 6 |
| Length of scroll | 13 feet and 5 inches |
| Date of superseding the Articles of Confederation | March 4, 1789 |
| Number of articles | 7 |
| Date of ratification by all states | May 29, 1790 |
| Date of ratification of the Bill of Rights | 1791 |
| Date of first draft acceptance | August 6, 1787 |
| Number of delegates present when the final draft was read | 42 |
| Date of Delaware's ratification, the first state to do so | December 7, 1787 |
| Date of New Hampshire's ratification, the ninth and final state needed | June 21, 1788 |
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What You'll Learn
The signing of the US Constitution
The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787, with representatives from 12 states in attendance. The initial goal was to amend the Articles of Confederation, but the delegates, including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, soon embarked on crafting a new form of government. The convention witnessed intense debates and compromises, particularly around issues like state representation, slavery, and the regulation of commerce.
A Committee of Detail was appointed to draft the Constitution, and a Committee of Style and Arrangement condensed the articles into a final form. The final draft was read to the remaining delegates, and on September 17, they signed the document, adding a declaration of successful completion. The convention's secretary, William Jackson, noted and signed four amendments made by hand. The Constitution's endorsement, or eschatocol, included a formulaic dating of its adoption and the delegates' signatures.
The signing of the Constitution was just the beginning of the journey towards a new government. The document was then submitted to the states for ratification, a process that took several years. The first state to ratify was Delaware on December 7, 1787, and the final state, Rhode Island, approved it on May 29, 1790. The Constitution superseded the Articles of Confederation on March 4, 1789, and the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments, was ratified in 1791. The US Constitution remains a living document, open to amendments and ongoing interpretation.
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The constitution's structure
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It defines the framework of the Federal Government of the United States, delineating the frame of the federal government into three branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial.
The legislative branch consists of the bicameral Congress (Article I). The executive branch is made up of the President and subordinate officers (Article II). The judicial branch is comprised of the Supreme Court and other federal courts (Article III).
Article IV, Article V, and Article VI embody concepts of federalism, outlining the rights and responsibilities of state governments, their relationship to the federal government, and the shared processes between the two.
The Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 39 delegates, including George Reed, who signed on behalf of the absent John Dickinson of Delaware. The document was created during a convention in Philadelphia, which began in May 1787. The convention was convened due to concerns that the young country was on the brink of collapse, with disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade. The delegates agreed to protect the slave trade for 20 years and further protected slavery by allowing states to count three-fifths of their slaves as part of their populations for representation purposes.
The Constitution was not ratified by all states until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island finally approved the document. The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, was ratified in 1791.
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Compromises and controversies
The US Constitution was created through a series of compromises among the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The delegates, representing 12 of the 13 original states, met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation, which had been the governing document of the United States since the American Revolution. However, they soon realized that a more comprehensive overhaul was needed, and they set out to create a new constitution.
One of the first compromises was the Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, which established a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House of Representatives and equal representation in the Senate. This compromise addressed the issue of "representation", which remained the core issue for the Philadelphia Convention. The delegates from Connecticut, a small population state, suggested that representatives in each house of the proposed bicameral legislature be selected through different means. The upper house or Senate would include two people from each state, regardless of size, reflecting state sovereignty. Meanwhile, the lower house or the House of Representatives would have different numbers of representatives from each state, determined by population.
Another significant compromise was the Three-Fifths Compromise, which addressed how slaves would be counted to determine congressional representation. Delegates from Northern states felt that enslaved people should not be counted toward representation because counting them would give the South a greater number of representatives. Southern states, on the other hand, wanted enslaved individuals to be counted in terms of representation as they wanted additional political power based on the number of people they held as slaves. The inhumane compromise resulted in enslaved persons being counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of congressional representation and, in turn, for determining the voting power in the Electoral College.
The issue of slavery was central to the debates over commerce and representation, and the delegates compromised over the slave trade. Congress could ban the international slave trade, but only 20 years after the ratification of the Constitution, which occurred in 1789. This protected the slave trade until 1808, during which over 200,000 people were imported as slaves. While some Southern states wanted to keep the slave trade going indefinitely, several Northern states wanted to end it immediately. The Commerce Compromise focused on how the new federal government should regulate business, with Congress given the authority to control domestic and international trade, but not the slave trade for at least 20 years.
Finally, the delegates compromised on the method of selecting the president, creating the Electoral College. The Electoral College Compromise has, however, been the focus of ongoing discussion and criticism. Critics argue that the winner of the popular vote might not win the presidency, and that the agreement violates the idea of one person, one vote, by giving smaller governments excessive authority.
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Ratification
The ratification campaign was a closely contested affair. The tide turned in Massachusetts, where the "vote now, amend later" compromise helped secure victory and influenced the final holdouts. On 21 June 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth and decisive state to ratify the Constitution. However, it was not until 29 May 1790 that Rhode Island approved the document, marking the unanimous ratification of the Constitution by all states.
The Bill of Rights, comprising the first ten amendments to the Constitution, was ratified in December 1791. These amendments defined citizens' and states' rights in relation to the federal government. The Constitution itself delineates the framework of the federal government, with its first three articles embodying the separation of powers into the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
The ratification of the Constitution was a significant milestone in the history of the United States. It replaced the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, which had granted significant powers to the states but lacked enforcement powers and the ability to regulate commerce or print money. The Constitution created a powerful central government, addressing the concerns of leaders like Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and George Washington, who feared the young nation was on the brink of collapse due to disputes between the states.
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Amendments
The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the world's oldest written constitution and remains a living document. The Constitution was ratified on May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island finally approved the document, and the Bill of Rights was ratified to become part of the Constitution at the end of the following year. The Constitution was not ratified by all states until this time, and the capital was not set until almost a year and a half after the general elections took place.
The Constitution was created during a four-month process of secret argument, debate, and compromise. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were wary of centralized power and loyal to their states, so they created a powerful central government. The final document was signed by 39 delegates, with George Reed signing for John Dickinson of Delaware, who was absent. The signatures were preceded by a declaration that the delegates' work had been successfully completed and that those whose signatures appear subscribed to the final document.
The first ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in December 1791. These amendments define citizens' and states' rights in relation to the government. The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution to secure basic individual rights and liberties. In the centuries since, the Constitution has been amended more than a dozen times, with its protections and prohibitions exhaustively debated.
The Constitution's first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, dividing the federal government into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress (Article I); the executive, consisting of the president and subordinate officers (Article II); and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts (Article III). Article IV, Article V, and Article VI embody concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments, the states in relation to the federal government, and the shared processes between the states.
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention made several compromises to ensure the Union held together and the Constitution was ratified. One such compromise was the Connecticut Compromise, which proposed a Congress with proportional representation in the lower house and equal representation in the upper house (the Senate), giving each state two senators. Another compromise was protecting the slave trade for 20 years, allowing states to count three-fifths of their slaves as part of their populations for representation in the federal government, and requiring the return of escaped slaves to their owners, even if they had escaped to states where slavery had been abolished.
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Frequently asked questions
The final document of the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789.
The final document was a scroll 13 feet and 5 inches long, made of six sheets of parchment stitched together. It was signed by 39 delegates, with George Reed signing on behalf of John Dickinson of Delaware.
The process of creating the final document involved a Committee of Detail that put the decisions of the delegates into writing. A Committee of Style and Arrangement then condensed 23 articles into seven in less than four days. The document was signed on September 17, 1787, and ratified by all states on May 29, 1790, with Rhode Island being the last state to approve.
