Omar Bennett
The US Constitution is the highest law of the land, and it has been amended 27 times since it became operational in 1789. The Constitution's main provisions include seven articles that outline the basic framework of the federal government, including its powers to declare war, collect taxes, and regulate interstate business. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, protect individual liberty and justice and restrict government powers. The Fourteenth Amendment (1868) granted citizenship to former slaves and imposed new limits on state power, while the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) prohibited the use of race, colour, or previous servitude in determining voting rights. The US Constitution is considered one of the most challenging in the world to amend, and it has been criticised for guaranteeing relatively few rights compared to other countries' constitutions.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of adoption | 1787 |
| Date it became operational | 1789 |
| Number of amendments | 27 |
| Number of amendments that are part of the Bill of Rights | 10 |
| Number of provisions | 7 |
| Number of rights guaranteed | 26 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Location of original document | National Archives |
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What You'll Learn
The Connecticut Compromise
The delegates from small states and those from large states disagreed over the apportionment of representation in the federal government. Delegates from large states supported the Virginia Plan, which provided for a bicameral legislature with representation of each state based on its population or wealth. On the other hand, delegates from small states supported the New Jersey Plan, or small state plan, proposed by William Paterson, which provided for equal representation in Congress. The Connecticut Compromise was a middle ground that allowed for both types of representation, with proportional representation in the lower house and equal representation in the upper house.
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The right to keep and bear arms
The Second Amendment to the US Constitution, also known as Amendment Two, was ratified on December 15, 1791. It protects the right for Americans to possess weapons for the protection of themselves, their rights, and their property. The original text of the amendment is as follows:
> "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
The notion of average citizens possessing their own weapons predates the US Constitution. In the English Bill of Rights of 1689, Parliament allowed all Protestant English citizens to "have arms for their defence [sic] suitable to their conditions and as allowed by law." This law was later commented on by Sir William Blackstone in his Commentaries on the Laws of England. Blackstone described the possession of weapons as an "auxiliary right," designed to support the core rights of self-defence and resistance to oppression, as well as the responsibility for the armed citizenry to protect their homeland.
During the colonial and revolutionary periods, legal documents such as the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Pennsylvania Constitution also asserted that the right for citizens to arm themselves was fundamental. After the American Revolution, one of the most prominent arguments among the framers of the Constitution was that oppressive regimes would use soldiers from their large armies to easily oppress their people. To counter this hypothetical threat, some asserted that the best deterrent would be to have each state raise its own militia. These militias would be composed of average citizens who would be granted the right to gather and possess their own armaments, while also receiving part-time military instruction and pay from their state governments.
The inclusion of the Second Amendment in the US Constitution was a response to concerns raised during the ratification of the Constitution that the power of Congress to disarm the state militias and create a national standing army posed an intolerable threat to the sovereignty of the states. Anti-Federalists were concerned that the shift of military authority from the states to the federal government was a dangerous precedent for government usurpation of individual rights. Federalists dismissed these concerns, clarifying that although the federal government would have the power to run a standing army and navy, the militias would still be functioning units. The mutual agreement was that regardless of the federal government's military authority, the average citizen would still have the natural-born right to possess and keep their own weapons.
The right to bear arms has been interpreted in different ways by state courts, with two main models emerging: an individual right (defence of self or home) and a collective right (defence of the state). The US Supreme Court has also issued several opinions on the topic, most notably in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010). In Heller, the Court analysed the meaning of "keep and bear arms" and concluded that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to bear arms, unrelated to militia service. In McDonald, the Court ruled that the Second Amendment's provisions were protected at the state level by the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.
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The Fourteenth Amendment
One of the key provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment was the expansion of citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof." This meant that former slaves and all individuals under US jurisdiction were now recognised as citizens of the United States and the state in which they resided. This marked a crucial step towards guaranteeing equal civil and legal rights to Black citizens in the aftermath of the Civil War.
The amendment also imposed three new limitations on state power, significantly enhancing the protections afforded by the Constitution. Firstly, it stipulated that no state shall violate a citizen's privileges or immunities. Secondly, it asserted that no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Lastly, it emphasised the need for all states to guarantee equal protection of the laws to all individuals within their jurisdiction. These limitations had a profound impact on ensuring that state governments respected the fundamental rights of their citizens.
Moreover, the Fourteenth Amendment addressed issues related to representation and voting rights. It stipulated that representatives shall be apportioned among the states according to their respective numbers, counting all persons in each state except for untaxed Indians. Additionally, it outlined the consequences of denying male citizens of a state, who are over 21 years old, the right to vote in certain elections. In such cases, the basis of representation would be reduced proportionally based on the number of eligible male citizens.
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The Bill of Rights
The Third Amendment prevents the government from forcing citizens to house members of the military. The Fourth Amendment bars the government from unreasonable search and seizure of an individual or their private property without probable cause affirmed by a warrant. The Fifth Amendment provides several protections for people accused of crimes. It states that serious criminal charges must be started by a grand jury, and a person cannot be tried twice for the same offence (double jeopardy) or have property taken away without just compensation. People have the right against self-incrimination and cannot be imprisoned without due process of law (fair procedures and trials).
The Sixth Amendment provides additional protections to people accused of crimes, such as the right to a speedy and public trial, trial by an impartial jury in criminal cases, and to be informed of criminal charges. The Ninth Amendment states that listing specific rights in the Constitution does not mean that people do not have other rights that have not been spelled out. The Tenth Amendment says that the federal government only has the powers delegated to it in the Constitution.
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Separation of powers
The US Constitution establishes three separate but equal branches of government: the legislative branch (makes the law), the executive branch (enforces the law), and the judicial branch (interprets the law).
The separation of powers is a well-known concept derived from the text and structure of the Constitution. The Framers' experience with the British monarchy informed their belief that concentrating distinct governmental powers in a single entity would subject the nation's people to arbitrary and oppressive government action. James Madison wrote in The Federalist No. 48:
> [t]he accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.
The separation of powers was designed to prevent one branch of government from becoming too powerful, and to create a system of checks and balances.
The legislative branch is described in Article I of the Constitution, which establishes the manner of election and the qualifications of members of each body. Representatives must be at least 25 years old, be a citizen of the United States for seven years, and live in the state they represent.
The executive power is vested, with exceptions and qualifications, in the President. The President becomes the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, has the power to make treaties and appointments to office "with the Advice and Consent of the Senate", receive Ambassadors and Public Ministers, and "take care that the laws be faithfully executed".
The judicial branch interprets the law. The Supreme Court has vacillated over the years between using a formalistic approach to separation-of-powers issues, and a functional approach that stresses core function and relationship, and permits a good deal of flexibility when these attributes are not threatened.
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Frequently asked questions
The US Constitution was ratified in 1789.
The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States. It 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 introduced novel governmental doctrines and practices such as checks and balances, separation of powers between branches, and defining said powers. It also superseded the rule of a sovereign, dictating rule by popular consent with laws drafted by the people’s representatives.
