Jonah Patel
The Constitution of the United States is the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force in the world. It superseded the Articles of Confederation on March 4, 1789, and was signed on September 17, 1787, after being drafted in secret by delegates to the Constitutional Convention during the summer of the same year. The Constitution established the government of the United States and is the supreme law of the United States of America.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date written | Summer of 1787 |
| Date signed | September 17, 1787 |
| Date ratified | June 21, 1788 |
| Location written | Philadelphia |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Number of articles | 7 |
| Number of amendments | 17 |
| Number of delegates who signed | 38 out of 41 |
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What You'll Learn
The US Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787
The Constitutional Convention, also known as the Philadelphia Convention, convened on May 25, 1787, in the State House (now known as Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. The initial purpose of the convention was to amend the Articles of Confederation, which served as the nation's first constitution. However, as the delegates engaged in discussions and debates, it became clear that they would be drafting an entirely new form of government.
The delegates to the convention, including notable figures such as George Mason, Elbridge Gerry, and Alexander Hamilton, grappled with important questions such as the balance of power between the central government and the states, the number of representatives each state should have in Congress, and how those representatives should be elected. The work of the convention was conducted in secret, under an oath of secrecy, and the resulting Constitution represented a model of cooperative statesmanship and compromise.
The final days of the convention were marked by close votes on several articles, and the Constitution was presented to the convention on September 12, 1787. The delegates carefully considered each section, and on September 15, Edmund Randolph proposed that amendments be made by the state conventions before being turned over to another general convention. Two days later, on September 17, the members met for the last time, and the Constitution was signed by 38 out of 41 delegates present.
The signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787, was a significant step towards establishing a new framework for the government of the United States. However, it did not immediately go into effect. The document needed to be ratified by nine of the 13 existing states, as per Article VII. The process of ratification was long and challenging, with some states voicing opposition to the Constitution for not adequately protecting certain rights. The Constitution eventually became the official framework of the US government on June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it.
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It superseded the Articles of Confederation
The United States Constitution was written in 1787, and it superseded the Articles of Confederation, which had been the country's first constitution. The Articles of Confederation were written in
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The document was drafted in secret
The United States Constitution was drafted in secret by delegates to the Constitutional Convention during the summer of 1787. The Federal Convention convened in the State House (now known as Independence Hall) in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787, with the initial purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. However, it soon became clear that the convention would draft an entirely new form of government.
The delegates to the convention debated and redrafted the articles of the new Constitution in closed sessions throughout the summer. The chief points at issue included how much power to grant the central government, how many representatives in Congress to allow each state, and how these representatives should be elected—directly by the people or by state legislators. The work of many minds, the Constitution stands as a model of cooperative statesmanship and the art of compromise.
The grueling work of the convention culminated in the presentation of the Constitution on September 12, 1787, and the delegates began to consider each section methodically. Close votes followed on several articles, but a compromise came easily in early September as the exhausted delegates were anxious to return home. The final vote on the Constitution took place on September 15, and the members met for the last time on September 17, when the venerable Franklin had written a speech delivered by his colleague James Wilson.
The Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 out of 41 delegates present, concluding the Constitutional Convention. However, the document would not become binding until it was ratified by nine of the 13 existing states. The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. The Constitution became the official framework of the government of the United States on June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it.
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It was ratified by nine of the 13 states
The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 of the 41 delegates present. However, it did not immediately go into effect. The document stipulated that it would only become binding once it was ratified by nine of the 13 existing states.
The Constitution was drafted in secret by delegates to the Constitutional Convention during the summer of 1787. The Convention was convened to revise the Articles of Confederation, which was the nation's first constitution. However, it soon became clear that, rather than amending the existing document, the Convention would draft an entirely new form of government.
The delegates debated and redrafted the articles of the new Constitution throughout the summer. Among the chief points at issue were how much power to allow the central government, how many representatives in Congress to allow each state, and how these representatives should be elected. The final draft of the Constitution was presented to the convention on September 12, and the delegates began to consider each section.
The Constitution was ratified by nine states on June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the final state to approve it. The other eight states to ratify the Constitution were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, and South Carolina. The journey to ratification was a long and arduous process. The terms of the Massachusetts Compromise, reached in February 1788, stipulated that amendments would be made to the Constitution to protect certain rights, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press. These amendments became the Bill of Rights.
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The Constitution is the oldest and longest-standing written national constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the oldest and longest-standing written national constitution in force in the world. It was written during the Philadelphia Convention, now known as the Constitutional Convention, which convened from May 25 to September 17, 1787. The Constitution superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789.
The Constitutional Convention was conducted under an oath of secrecy. The delegates debated and redrafted the articles of the new Constitution in closed sessions throughout the summer of 1787. The document was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 out of 41 delegates present. However, it did not immediately go into effect. It needed to be ratified by the people through a long and arduous process. The Constitution became the official framework of the government of the United States of America on June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to ratify it.
The Constitution, originally including seven articles, delineates the frame of the federal government. The 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 remaining articles embody concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments, the states in relation to the federal government, and the shared process of constitutional amendment.
The first ten amendments to the Constitution, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791. They offer specific protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers of the government within the U.S. states. The majority of the 17 later amendments expand individual civil rights protections.
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Frequently asked questions
The US Constitution was written in 1787 during the Philadelphia Convention, also known as the Constitutional Convention.
The US Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, but it didn't come into effect until it was ratified by nine of the 13 existing states. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, making it the official framework of the US government.
The Preamble of the US Constitution states: "We the People of the United States, 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."
