Cameron Miranda
Before the US Constitution, the nation's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, was in place. The Articles of Confederation gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no power to enforce these rules, regulate commerce, or print money. The US Constitution superseded the Articles of Confederation on March 4, 1789, and became law on June 21, 1788, when two-thirds of the states ratified it. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and it outlines the system of government and the rights of the American people.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| First Constitution | Articles of Confederation |
| Constitution's Purpose | To supersede the Articles of Confederation |
| Constitution's First Three Articles | Embodiment of the separation of powers |
| Legislative Branch | Bicameral Congress |
| Executive Branch | President and subordinate officers |
| Judicial Branch | Supreme Court and other federal courts |
| Articles | Set up how the government is organized and how the Constitution can be changed |
| Amendments | Changes to the Constitution |
| First Ten Amendments | The Bill of Rights |
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What You'll Learn
The Articles of Confederation
Under the Articles, the Confederation Congress had the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers. This led to disputes between the states over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, which threatened to tear the young country apart.
Fearing that their country was on the brink of collapse, nationalists led by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington began working towards strengthening the federal government. Alexander Hamilton helped convince Congress to organize a Grand Convention of state delegates to work on revising the Articles of Confederation. This eventually resulted in the creation of a new constitution, which took effect on June 21, 1788, when two-thirds of the states ratified it.
The new Constitution established a powerful central government, with a system of checks and balances to ensure that no one branch gained too much power. It outlined the government's structure, assigned separate powers to its three branches, and protected the rights of America's people.
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Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers are a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the collective pseudonym "Publius". They were written and published to urge New Yorkers to ratify the proposed United States Constitution, which was drafted in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787. The Federalist Papers explain particular provisions of the Constitution in detail and are thus often used today to help interpret the intentions of those who drafted the Constitution.
The first 77 of these essays were published serially in the Independent Journal, the New York Packet, and The Daily Advertiser between October 1787 and April 1788. The last eight papers (Nos. 78–85) were republished in the New York newspapers between June 14 and August 16, 1788. A compilation of the first 77 essays and eight others were published in two volumes as The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, as Agreed upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787, by publishing firm J. & A. McLean in March and May 1788.
The Federalist Papers were written in response to the Anti-Federalist Papers, a series of articles and public letters critical of the new Constitution. The Federal Convention (Constitutional Convention) sent the proposed Constitution to the Confederation Congress, which in turn submitted it to the states for ratification at the end of September 1787. On September 27, 1787, "Cato" (likely George Clinton) first appeared in the New York press criticizing the proposition; "Brutus" (likely Robert Yates) followed on October 18, 1787. These articles and others would eventually become known as the "Anti-Federalist Papers". In response, Alexander Hamilton decided to launch a measured defence and extensive explanation of the proposed Constitution to the people of the state of New York.
In Federalist No. 1, Hamilton wrote that the series would "endeavor to give a satisfactory answer to all the objections which shall have made their appearance, that may seem to have any claim to your attention." The Federalist Papers explain the need for an independent judiciary, with Hamilton noting in The Federalist # 78 that the federal courts "were designed to be an intermediate body between the people and their legislature" to ensure that the people's representatives acted only within the authority given to Congress under the Constitution. The Federalist Papers also discuss the structure of the government and the need for checks and balances between the different departments. They explain the important distinction between a Constitution established by the people and unalterable by the government, and a law established by the government and alterable by the government. The Federalist # 78 further states that if any law passed by Congress conflicts with the Constitution, "the Constitution ought to be preferred to the statute, the intention of the people to the intention of their agents."
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The Judiciary Act of 1789
The Act also included the Alien Tort Statute, now codified as 28 U.S.C. § 1350, which provides jurisdiction in the district courts over lawsuits by aliens for torts in violation of the law of nations or treaties of the United States. The Judiciary Act of 1789 was also the first act of Congress to be partially invalidated by the Supreme Court. A clause in Section 13 of the Judiciary Act, which granted the Supreme Court the power to issue writs of mandamus under its original jurisdiction, was later declared unconstitutional in Marbury v. Madison, one of the seminal cases in American law.
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The US Constitution's three parts
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 Constitution became law on June 21, 1788, when two-thirds of the states ratified it. The US Constitution is made up of three parts: the Preamble, the Articles, and the Amendments.
The Preamble tells the purpose of the document and the Government. It begins with the famous words, "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."
The Articles set up how the Government is organized and how the Constitution can be changed. 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). Article IV, Article V, and Article VI embody concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments, the states in relation to the federal government, and the shared process.
The Amendments are changes to the Constitution. There have been 27 amendments to the Constitution, beginning with the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments, which were ratified on December 15, 1791. Amendments can be proposed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress or by a national convention requested by two-thirds of the state legislatures. A proposed amendment becomes an operative part of the Constitution when ratified by three-fourths of the states. Notable amendments include the Thirteenth Amendment (1865), which abolished slavery; the Fourteenth Amendment (1868), which granted citizenship to former slaves and imposed new limits on state power; and the Fifteenth Amendment (1870), which prohibited the use of race or colour as a criterion for voting rights.
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The US Constitution's amendments
The US Constitution has 27 amendments, with approximately 11,848 proposals to amend it having been introduced in Congress since 1789. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791, and are considered fundamental freedoms. The process of amending the Constitution is outlined in Article Five, which requires a proposal for an amendment to be adopted by two-thirds of both houses of Congress or by a national convention requested by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Once proposed, Congress decides on the method of ratification, which can be through state legislatures or state ratifying conventions.
The Fourteenth Amendment (1868) is a notable amendment that granted citizenship to former slaves and imposed three new limits on state power: firstly, a state cannot violate a citizen's privileges or immunities; secondly, it cannot deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; and finally, it must guarantee all persons equal protection under the law. This amendment dramatically expanded the protections of the Constitution and made most provisions of the Bill of Rights applicable to state and local governments.
The Fifteenth Amendment (1870) is another significant amendment that prohibits the use of race, colour, or previous servitude in determining voting rights. The Twenty-first Amendment, ratified in 1933, is the only amendment that explicitly repeals a prior amendment, in this case, the Eighteenth Amendment, which established the prohibition of alcohol.
The process of amending the Constitution is not easy, and it has been a long time since any proposals made it into the Constitution. The last proposal to gain the necessary support for submission to the states was the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment in 1978.
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Frequently asked questions
Before the US Constitution, the Articles of Confederation acted as the nation's first constitution.
The Articles of Confederation 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 Constitution became law on June 21, 1788, when two-thirds of the states ratified it.
