Isabella Carter
The United States Constitution, the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force, was written in 1787 and presented to the American public on September 17, 1787. The Constitution is the foundation of the American government, outlining the system of government and the rights of the American people. It consists of a preamble, articles, and amendments. The Constitution was written during the Philadelphia Convention, also known as the Constitutional Convention, which took place from May 25 to September 17, 1787, and was signed on the last day of the convention. The Declaration of Independence, on the other hand, was adopted in July 1776, and it marked the beginning of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783).
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date written | May 25 to September 17, 1787 |
| Date signed | September 17, 1787 |
| Date published | September 19, 1787 |
| Date ratified | June 21, 1788 |
| Date became law | June 21, 1788 |
| Location written | Philadelphia Convention, Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Number of articles | 7 |
| Number of parts | 3 |
| Number of amendments | 27 |
| Oldest and longest-standing national constitution | Yes |
| Shortest national constitution | Yes |
| Inspiration | Magna Carta, Enlightenment rationalism, English common law, Scottish Enlightenment, English Declaration of Rights |
| Related documents | Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Bill of Rights, Emancipation Proclamation |
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What You'll Learn
- The US Constitution was written in 1787, 11 years after the Declaration of Independence
- The document was signed on September 17, 1787, and became law on June 21, 1788
- The Constitution was presented to the public via a newspaper, two days after it was signed
- The US Constitution is the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force
- The Constitution was inspired by the Scottish Enlightenment and the writings of Hume, Locke, and Montesquieu
The US Constitution was written in 1787, 11 years after the Declaration of Independence
The Constitution was written during the Philadelphia Convention, now known as the Constitutional Convention, which took place from May 25 to September 17, 1787. It was signed on September 17, 1787, and became law on June 21, 1788, when two-thirds of the states ratified it. The original, signed, handwritten Constitution can be found at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
The US Constitution is the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force in the world. It is made up of a preamble, articles, and amendments. The preamble outlines the purpose of the document and government, the articles describe how the government is organized and how the Constitution can be changed, and the amendments make changes to the Constitution. The first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.
The Constitution was created to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, which was the system of government established after the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). The Articles of Confederation gave too much power to the states, and a new framework was needed to establish a stronger federal government. The Constitution established a federal government with three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress; the executive, consisting of the President and subordinate officers; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts.
The Constitution is considered a living document because it can be amended. Since its ratification, it has only been changed 27 times. It is the foundation of the American government and has inspired many other countries to create their own written constitutions.
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The document was signed on September 17, 1787, and became law on June 21, 1788
The United States Constitution is the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force in the world. It is the foundation of the American government, outlining the system of government and the rights of the American people. The Constitution has three parts: the Preamble, the Articles, and the Amendments.
The Constitution was written during the Philadelphia Convention, also known as the Constitutional Convention, which took place from May 25 to September 17, 1787. The document was signed on September 17, 1787, and presented to the American public on the same day. This date is now commemorated as Constitution Day, a federal observance established by law in 2004. The original signed, handwritten Constitution is housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
The Constitution did not immediately go into effect upon being signed by the delegates. It required ratification by the people, a process that included approval by two-thirds of the states. The Constitution became law on June 21, 1788, when it achieved the necessary ratifications.
The creation of the Constitution was influenced by various historical documents and philosophical traditions. The founders drew upon the Magna Carta, Enlightenment rationalism, and English common law. The ideas of political philosophers such as Montesquieu, Locke, Edward Coke, and William Blackstone were also significant influences during the framing and signing of the Constitution.
Founding Fathers' Intent: The Constitution's Purpose
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The Constitution was presented to the public via a newspaper, two days after it was signed
The United States Constitution is the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force in the world. It was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 out of 41 delegates present, and presented to the public via a newspaper two days later. The document was not binding until its ratification by nine of the 13 existing states.
The creation of the U.S. Constitution was a long and arduous process. The delegates appointed a Committee of Detail to put its decisions in writing. Near the end of the convention, a Committee of Style and Arrangement condensed 23 articles into seven in less than four days. The delegates then considered each section of the Constitution. The final vote on the Constitution took place on September 15, 1787, and it was signed two days later.
The delegates shared a farewell dinner at City Tavern after signing the Constitution. Meanwhile, two blocks away on Market Street, printers John Dunlap and David Claypoole worked through the night on the final imprint of the six-page Constitution. Copies of the document would leave Philadelphia on the morning stage.
The Committee of Style and Arrangement was led by Gouverneur Morris, who was the chief architect. He later wrote to Timothy Pickering, "That Instrument was written by the Fingers which wrote this letter." The Constitution was presented to the convention on September 12, and the delegates began to consider each section.
The justification for judicial review is explicitly found in the open ratifications held in the states and reported in their newspapers. The Federalists, who believed that a strong central government was necessary, needed to convert at least three states. The Anti-Federalists fought against the Constitution because it created a powerful central government and lacked a bill of rights. The ratification campaign was a nail-biter.
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The US Constitution is the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force
The Constitution is made up of three parts: the Preamble, the Articles, and the Amendments. The Preamble outlines the purpose of the document and the Government. The Articles describe how the Government is structured and how the Constitution can be amended. The Amendments are changes made to the Constitution, with the first ten known as the Bill of Rights. 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 US Constitution is a living document, which means it can be changed or amended. Since its ratification, it has only been changed 27 times. While the Constitution has been amended, its basic form has been preserved. The Constitution is the foundation of the American Government, outlining the system of government and the rights of the American people.
The Constitution was influenced by the ideas of political philosophers such as Montesquieu, Locke, Edward Coke, and William Blackstone. These philosophers were frequently referenced by the founding fathers, who also drew upon the Magna Carta and the writings of "Enlightenment rationalism" and English common law. The US Constitution is a powerful vision of freedom and has inspired the trajectory of world history.
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The Constitution was inspired by the Scottish Enlightenment and the writings of Hume, Locke, and Montesquieu
The US Constitution was written in 1787, and it was influenced by various factors, including the Scottish Enlightenment and the writings of Hume, Locke, and Montesquieu.
The Scottish Enlightenment, which took place in the 18th century, was a period of significant intellectual and cultural advancement in Scotland. It was characterised by a strong emphasis on empiricism, practicality, improvement, virtue, and the pursuit of practical benefits for individuals and society as a whole. The Enlightenment values of the Scottish clergy were so renowned that they sparked inquiries about the prevalence of Deism among them. The highly literate culture of Scottish Presbyterianism, with its support for the Act of Union and the Protestant Hanoverian monarchy, also played a role in shaping the Scottish Enlightenment.
The Scottish Enlightenment had a far-reaching impact, influencing not only Scotland but also the rest of Great Britain and the Western world. This was facilitated by the Scottish diaspora and foreign students who studied in Scotland, helping spread the ideas and attitudes of this intellectual movement. One of the key characteristics of the Scottish Enlightenment was the advancement of various fields, including philosophy, political economy, engineering, architecture, medicine, and the social sciences.
David Hume, an influential Scottish philosopher and historian, was admired by Benjamin Franklin, who studied many of his works while in Edinburgh in 1760. Franklin and Hume shared ideas about public service, including the belief that high-ranking public officials should receive no salary. Hume's writings also explored topics such as natural law and natural rights, which were central concepts in his political philosophy.
John Locke, an English philosopher, and his ideas about the separation of powers also influenced the Constitution. Locke's formulation of the separation of powers shares similarities with the later ideas of Montesquieu, a French political philosopher of the Enlightenment period. Both Locke and Montesquieu argued for the division of governmental functions into different branches, such as the legislative, executive, and judicial, to prevent the concentration of power and protect political liberty.
The influence of these Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas about governance, liberty, and natural rights had a significant impact on the framing and signing of the US Constitution. The Constitution, with its delineation of the federal government's structure and powers, reflects the principles and values that emerged during the Scottish Enlightenment and the Enlightenment more broadly.
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Frequently asked questions
The US Constitution was written in 1787. It was presented to the American public on September 17, 1787, and signed on the same day.
The US Constitution is the foundation of the American government. It lays out the system of government and the rights of the American people. It is the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force in the world.
The US Constitution is based on the principles of freedom, justice, domestic tranquility, common defence, general welfare, and securing liberty for the people and their posterity. It is also based on the doctrine of the separation of powers, dividing the federal government into three branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial.
