Eleanor Finch
The US Constitution, which came into force in 1789, established a federal system of government. The Constitution was ratified in 1788, a year after it was signed by 38 delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. The convention was held in response to the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation, which served as the country's first constitution. The Articles of Confederation had a weak executive branch, lacked national taxation powers, and failed to regulate commerce. The Constitution aimed to address these issues by creating a central government with expanded responsibilities, greater autonomy, and enhanced powers to fund its operations. It also established relationships between the American people, the existing states, and the new federal government structure. The transition to the federal system occurred amidst challenging domestic and international developments, and it marked a profound moment in the history of the early American republic.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type of document | The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land |
| Previous constitution | The Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution |
| Date ratified | 1788 |
| Number of articles | 7 |
| Branches of government | Legislative, Executive, Judicial |
| Legislative branch | Bicameral Congress |
| Executive branch | President and subordinate officers |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court and other federal courts |
| Federalism | Rights and responsibilities of state governments, the states in relation to the federal government, and the shared process |
| Separation of powers | Yes |
| Congressional representation | Based on population with each state having one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate |
| Slavery | Allowed states to count three-fifths of their slaves as part of their populations for representation in the federal government |
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What You'll Learn
The US Constitution established a federal system
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).
The delegates who assembled in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation ended up completely redesigning the government. They created a powerful central government with larger responsibilities, clearer autonomy, and stronger powers to fund its operations. One of the fiercest arguments was over congressional representation—whether it should be based on population or divided equally among the states. A compromise was reached, giving each state one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate.
The Constitution also created a new fiscal regime in the United States by empowering Congress to initiate a budget, allowing the federal government to proceed without the restraints imposed by the Articles of Confederation. This transfer of fiscal authority from the states to the federal government marked a dramatic shift in the distribution of governing power.
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The federal government began operations in 1789
The US Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, and ratified in 1788. The federal government began operations in 1789, marking a transition to a federal system. This system was established by the Constitution, which defined the relationships between the American people, the existing states, and the new federal government structure.
The Constitution was created to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, which served as the first US constitution from 1781 to 1789. The Articles established a weak central government with insufficient powers to regulate commerce, tax, or effectively support a war effort. It also lacked standard currency and faced challenges in settling disputes between states.
The Constitutional Convention, led by James Madison, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Wilson, worked towards strengthening the federal government. The new Constitution created a powerful central government with larger responsibilities, clearer autonomy, and enhanced powers to fund its operations. It transferred fiscal authority from the states to the federal government, marking a significant shift in governance.
While the Constitution brought about a new form of government, many relationships between national, state, and local governments remained unchanged. Many individuals who worked in state and local governments before 1789 continued to do so after the federal government began operations. The Constitution set in motion a process that led to thousands of people becoming federal employees, marking a significant expansion of the government's reach.
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The central government had larger responsibilities
The US Constitution, which came into effect in 1789, created a powerful central government with larger responsibilities, clearer autonomy, and enhanced powers to fund its operations. The Constitution superseded the Articles of Confederation, which had served as the first constitution of the United States.
The Articles of Confederation had established a weak central government, which lacked the power to enforce its decisions, regulate commerce, or print money. This led to disputes among the states over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, threatening to tear the young nation apart. The framers of the Constitution sought to address these issues by completely restructuring the relationship between the states and the central government.
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). This separation of powers provided a framework for a stronger central government.
The Constitution also enabled the federal government to take control of fiscal policy, empowering Congress to initiate a budget and proceed without the restraints imposed by the Articles of Confederation. This transfer of fiscal authority from the states to the federal government marked a significant shift in the distribution of governing power. Additionally, the Constitution's authors intended to grant the central government clearer powers to fund its operations, setting in motion a process that led to thousands of people becoming federal employees.
The establishment of a more powerful central government was not without opposition. The Anti-Federalists fought against the Constitution, arguing that it created a central government reminiscent of the one they had just overthrown, and that it lacked a bill of rights. However, the Federalists, who believed in the necessity of a strong central government to address the nation's challenges, prevailed in the ratification process.
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The federal government had fiscal authority over the states
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It came into force in 1789, superseding the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution. The Constitution 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).
The Constitution's framers were wary of centralised power and loyal to their states, so they crafted a powerful central government with a system of checks and balances. This federalist system of government in the United States is an overlapping structure of federal, state, and local governments. While the federal government has fiscal authority over the states, the US has a decentralised tax administration, with each federal, state, and local government having its own tax administration to collect the taxes it imposes. This gives each government maximum fiscal independence and control over the base and rates of its taxes.
The federal government has assumed increased financial responsibility for government programs, but it does not directly spend all of this money. Instead, it transfers considerable funds to state and local governments, allowing them to retain administrative control over their traditional programs. Intergovernmental grants from the federal government to state and local governments grew most rapidly when the federal government was in a strong fiscal position relative to the lower levels of government.
Income tax administration is coordinated between the federal government and each of the 50 states through agreements to exchange information. This permits states to follow up on taxpayers who file a federal income tax return but not a state tax return. In 1972, Congress enacted a provision that would have allowed states to elect to have the federal Internal Revenue Service collect state income tax. However, no state elected to do so, and Congress repealed the provision in 1990 due to the high degree of conformity required under federal law.
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The Constitution was amended 27 times
The US Constitution, which came into force in 1789, is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the country's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. The Constitution has been amended 27 times since it was drafted in 1787, including the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, which were ratified in 1791.
The process of amending the Constitution is deliberately difficult and time-consuming. A proposed amendment must be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and then ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50). This ensures that any changes to the Constitution have a significant impact on all Americans or secure the rights of citizens. For instance, some of the amendments adopted in the past century have given women the right to vote, abolished poll taxes, and lowered the minimum voting age to 18.
The most recent amendment to the Constitution is the Twenty-first Amendment, which was ratified using the convention method. This method involves the proposed amendment being sent to the states for ratification, bypassing Congress. This was the first and only time the convention method of ratification has been used.
Despite the challenges of amending the Constitution, there have been numerous proposals for new amendments. Some of these include allowing voluntary school prayer, making English the official language, and abolishing the Electoral College. However, not all proposed amendments are successful, and some may be controversial or face strong opposition.
The difficulty in amending the Constitution has led to criticisms and calls for a new Constitutional Convention. Some argue that the Constitution has been corrupted by special interests and partisan politics, hindering progress and reform. However, others believe that efforts to amend the Constitution may be excessive and that political fixes do not necessarily belong in the Constitution.
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Frequently asked questions
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first constitution of the United States. It was established in 1781 and 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 US Constitution created a powerful central government with larger responsibilities, clearer autonomy, and stronger powers to fund its operations. The federal government came into operation in 1789.
The US Constitution created a stronger central government, with the power to regulate commerce, tax, and enforce rules. It also established a two-house legislature, with proportional representation in the lower house and equal representation in the upper house (the Senate).
The Articles of Confederation provided for a weak executive branch, no national power of taxation, a lack of standard currency, and voting by state. These issues led to divisions among the states and local rebellions, threatening to undo the progress of the Revolution.
The US Constitution was signed by 38 delegates on September 17, 1787, and George Reed signed on behalf of John Dickinson of Delaware, bringing the total to 39 signatures. It was ratified in 1788 and the federal government began operations in 1789.
