Omar Bennett
The United States Constitution was written on five pages of parchment by Jacob Shallus, and was signed by 39 delegates on September 17, 1787. The Constitution was heavily influenced by the Declaration of Independence, the Mayflower Compact, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and the Articles of Confederation, which was the first constitution of the United States. The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, and ratified by the states on March 1, 1781. However, the Articles of Confederation had several weaknesses, including a lack of enforcement powers and the inability to regulate commerce or print money. These weaknesses, along with divisions among the states, led to the creation of a new constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of first draft | August 6, 1787 |
| Number of articles in the first draft | 23 |
| Date of final draft | September 12, 1787 |
| Number of articles in the final draft | 7 |
| Date of signing | September 17, 1787 |
| Number of signatures | 39 |
| Date of submission to Congress | September 28, 1787 |
| Date of ratification by states | N/A |
| Number of states that ratified the document | N/A |
| Previous documents used as a reference | Mayflower Compact, Virginia Declaration of Rights, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation |
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What You'll Learn
The Declaration of Independence
The creation of the Declaration of Independence was a collaborative effort involving several key figures. Thomas Jefferson, who would later become the third President of the United States, is often credited as the primary author. However, the document was reviewed and revised by other founding fathers, including John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. These men were part of the Continental Congress, which adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776, a date now celebrated as Independence Day in the United States.
The Constitution's Initial Citizen Mandate:
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The Articles of Confederation
The Articles outlined a Congress with representation not based on population – each state had one vote, regardless of its population size. The presiding officer of Congress, often referred to as the President of the United States in Congress Assembled, chaired the Committee of the States when Congress was in recess and performed administrative functions. However, this position was not an executive role, as all functions were executed under the direct control of Congress.
The Articles provided for a blanket acceptance of the Province of Quebec (referred to as "Canada" in the Articles) into the United States if it chose to do so, but this did not occur. No new states were admitted to the Union under the Articles of Confederation, and ordinances to admit Frankland (later Franklin), Kentucky, and Vermont were considered but not approved.
The Articles gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it lacked enforcement powers, could not regulate commerce, and could not print money. Disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart, and the central government's weakness in foreign policy was exposed by the 1786 Jay-Gardoqui Treaty with Spain, which would have economically harmed settlers west of the Appalachian Mountains. The Articles also could not prevent the British army from delaying their departure from frontier forts on American soil, as stipulated by the 1783 Treaty of Paris.
The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation led to calls for reform, with the Annapolis Convention being called in September 1786 to address these issues. This convention, led by John Dickinson, who had chaired the committee to draft the Articles, resulted in the decision to reconvene in Philadelphia in May 1787 to revise the Articles. However, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention went beyond their mandate and created a new constitution, which incorporated several ideas from the Articles, including the full faith and credit clause and the power to declare war.
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The Mayflower Compact
The Compact was signed by nearly all of the Mayflower's adult male passengers—41 out of a total of 102 passengers—while the ship was anchored at Provincetown Harbour. The document bound its signatories into a body politic for the purpose of forming a government and pledged them to abide by any laws and regulations that would later be established "for the general good of the colony".
The Compact was drafted to quell conflict and preserve unity between the English Separatists (the Pilgrims) and the rest of the travellers, some of whom threatened to leave the group and settle on their own. The Pilgrims and "Strangers" made a written agreement or compact among themselves, as they were cut off from any government and needed to work as a group to survive in the wilderness. The document continued the idea of law made by the people, a principle established by the English Magna Carta.
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The Virginia Declaration of Rights
The Declaration consists of sixteen articles, or sections, that affirm the inherent nature of rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit and attainment of happiness and safety. It also enumerates the separation of powers into the administration, legislature, and judiciary. Notably, it is one of the earliest documents to emphasise the protection of individual rights, rather than solely protecting members of Parliament.
Articles 1–3 address the subject of rights and the relationship between the government and the governed. The Declaration asserts that all men are created equally free and independent, and that they possess inherent natural rights that cannot be taken away. This statement, however, excluded enslaved people, as they were not considered part of civil society by most white Virginians.
Articles 7–16 propose restrictions on the powers of the government. These include the establishment of legal rights, such as the right to confront accusers and witnesses, present evidence, and receive a speedy trial by an impartial jury. It also includes protections against cruel and unusual punishments, baseless search and seizure, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.
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The Federalist Papers
The Constitution of the United States superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. The Articles of Confederation 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 Constitution, on the other hand, delineates the frame of the federal government, which is divided 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).
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Frequently asked questions
The Articles of Confederation, adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, was the first constitution of the United States.
The Articles of Confederation 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 Constitutional Convention was assembled to revise the Articles of Confederation, which were seen as too weak and ineffective. The delegates ended up drafting a new constitution, creating a more powerful central government.
The US Constitution was influenced by several colonial documents, including the Mayflower Compact (1620), George Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776), and the Declaration of Independence.
