Omar Bennett
The US Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. It was signed on September 17, 1787, and superseded the Articles of Confederation on March 4, 1789. The first goal of the US Constitution is to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty. This is known as the Preamble.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| First goal | To form a more perfect union |
| To establish justice | |
| To insure domestic tranquility | |
| To provide for the common defence | |
| To promote the general welfare | |
| To secure the blessings of liberty | |
| To establish a fair and balanced government | |
| To delineate the frame of the federal government | |
| To embody the doctrine of the separation of powers | |
| To provide checks and balances among the three branches |
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What You'll Learn
The Preamble
> We the People, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty, to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
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Separation of powers
The US Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the oldest written national constitution in the world, having been signed on 17 September 1787. The first part of the Constitution is called the Preamble and it tells us what the Founding Fathers set out to do when creating the government. The Preamble states:
> We the People, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty, to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
The first three articles of the Constitution embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, in which the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The legislative branch consists of the bicameral Congress (Article I); the executive branch consists of the president and subordinate officers (Article II); and the judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court and other federal courts (Article III).
The separation of powers is intended to provide 'checks and balances' among the three branches of government. This is to prevent the accumulation of powers in the same hands, which could lead to tyranny.
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Checks and balances
The US Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. It was signed on 17 September 1787 and superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on 4 March 1789. The first part of the Constitution is called the Preamble and it outlines the Founding Fathers' intentions when creating the government:
> We the People, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty, to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
The Constitution's first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, dividing the federal government into three branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The legislative branch consists of the bicameral Congress, the executive branch consists of the president and subordinate officers, and the judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court and other federal courts.
To achieve the goals set out in the Preamble, the Constitution provides "checks and balances" among the three branches. This prevents the accumulation of powers in the same hands, which "may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny".
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Federalism
The US Constitution 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 first part of the Constitution is called the Preamble and it tells us what the Founding Fathers set out to do when creating the government.
> We the People, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty, to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
The Constitution's first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, in which the federal government 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).
Articles IV, V, and VI embody concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments, the states in relationship to the federal government, and the shared process of constitutional amendment. Federalism is a system of government in which entities such as states or provinces share power with a national government. The US Constitution establishes a federalist system, with the national government and state governments each having specific powers. The Constitution outlines the framework for this system, including the division of powers and the relationship between the two levels of government.
The legislative branch of the federal government is responsible for creating laws, while the executive branch, led by the president, is responsible for enforcing those laws. The judicial branch, including the Supreme Court, interprets the laws and ensures that they are consistent with the Constitution. This system of checks and balances helps to prevent any one branch from having too much power and ensures that the rights of citizens are protected.
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The Supreme Law of the Land
The US Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is also known as the 'Supreme Law of the Land' because it lays out the basic rules of the government and no other law is above it. The Constitution superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. It was signed on September 17, 1787, by the Founding Fathers, making it the oldest constitution in the world.
The first part of the Constitution is called the Preamble. It tells us what the Founding Fathers set out to do when creating the government:
> We the People, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty, to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
The Constitution's first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, in which the federal government 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). To achieve this goal, the Constitution provides 'checks and balances' among the three branches.
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Frequently asked questions
The first goal of the US Constitution is to form a more perfect union.
The US Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the oldest and shortest written national constitution in the world.
The Preamble is the first part of the Constitution. It tells us what the Founding Fathers set out to do when creating the government.
The Founding Fathers were the people who signed the US Constitution on September 17, 1787.
The US Constitution superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789.
