Cameron Miranda
The Constitution of the United States of America was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 delegates, with George Read signing on behalf of John Dickinson of Delaware. The Constitution became the official framework of the government of the United States on June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to ratify it. The Constitution has been amended 27 times since it became operational in 1789.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year the Constitution became operational | 1789 |
| First state to ratify the Constitution | Delaware, on December 7, 1787 |
| Date the Constitution became the official framework of the government of the United States of America | June 21, 1788 |
| Date the Constitution was ratified by all states | May 29, 1790 |
| Number of times the Constitution has been amended | 27 |
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What You'll Learn
- The Constitution became the official framework of the US government in 1788
- Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution in 1787
- The US Constitution has been amended 27 times since 1789
- The Reconstruction Amendments abolished slavery after the Civil War
- The Twentieth Amendment changed the date on which a new president takes office
The Constitution became the official framework of the US government in 1788
The United States Constitution is one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world. It was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 delegates, with George Reed signing on behalf of John Dickinson of Delaware, bringing the total number of signatures to 39. The Constitution was authored by the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention as the framework for the United States government.
The Constitution was not ratified by all states until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island finally approved the document, and the Bill of Rights was ratified to become part of the Constitution at the end of the following year. However, the Constitution became the official framework of the US government on June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to ratify it. The journey to ratification was a long and arduous process. The country was governed by the Articles of Confederation, which was America's first constitution. 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, and couldn't print money. It quickly became clear to some of America's leaders that future stability required a stronger, more centralized government.
The Constitution has been amended 27 times since it became operational in 1789. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, offer specific protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers of the government within the US states. The majority of the 17 later amendments expand individual civil rights protections, while others address issues related to federal authority or modify government processes and procedures.
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Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution in 1787
The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 of the 41 delegates present at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. The document would not be binding until it was ratified by nine of the 13 existing states. Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution unanimously by all 30 delegates to the Delaware Constitutional Convention on December 7, 1787.
The Constitution was sent to the states for ratification, and on June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, making federal democracy the law of the land. Government under the U.S. Constitution came into effect on March 4, 1789.
The Constitution has been amended 27 times since it became operational in 1789. The first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791. The majority of the 17 later amendments expand individual civil rights protections.
Delaware, known as "The First State," was admitted to the United States on December 7, 1787, subject to at least nine other colonies agreeing to the U.S. Constitution. The ratification was a unanimous 30-0 vote. Delaware's coastline was large, despite its small size and population. Citizens of Delaware desired a stronger national government than the Articles of Confederation provided.
The first permanent constitution was handwritten on five pages of parchment by Jacob Shallus. It has been interpreted, supplemented, and implemented by a large body of federal constitutional law and has influenced the constitutions of other nations.
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The US Constitution has been amended 27 times since 1789
The US Constitution became operational in 1789 and has been amended 27 times since. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791. They include protections for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, the right to keep and bear arms, and the right to security in one's home against unreasonable searches and seizures.
The Reconstruction Amendments (the 13th, 14th, and 15th) were adopted between 1865 and 1870, in the five years immediately following the American Civil War. These amendments abolished slavery and granted citizenship and voting rights to former slaves. However, they did not include a specific prohibition on discrimination in voting based on sex. That came later with the Nineteenth Amendment, ratified in 1920, which prohibited denying any US citizen the right to vote on the basis of sex.
Other notable amendments include the Twentieth Amendment (1933), which shortened the transition period between Election Day and the beginning of the new president's term, and the Twenty-second Amendment (1951), which limited the president to two terms in office. The Equal Rights Amendment, proposed in 1972, sought to prohibit discrimination by the federal or state governments on the basis of sex, but it failed to be ratified by enough states before the deadline, even with an extension.
In total, approximately 11,848 proposals to amend the Constitution have been introduced in Congress since 1789, with members of the House and Senate typically proposing around 200 amendments during each two-year term of Congress.
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The Reconstruction Amendments abolished slavery after the Civil War
The US Constitution, which became operational in 1789, has been amended 27 times since. The Reconstruction Amendments—the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments—were adopted between 1865 and 1870, in the five years immediately following the American Civil War.
The Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, was passed by the US Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House of Representatives on January 31, 1865. It was then ratified on December 6, 1865, when 27 out of 33 states approved it. The Thirteenth Amendment was the final answer to the question of slavery in the United States, banning it 89 years after the country declared independence. It also restricted several other forms of bound labour and servitude.
The Fourteenth Amendment, which addresses citizenship rights and equal protection under the law, was proposed in 1866 and ratified in 1868. It defines all people born in the United States as citizens and requires due process of law.
The Fifteenth Amendment, which prohibits the denial of a citizen's right to vote based on "race, colour, or previous condition of servitude", was proposed in 1869 and ratified in 1870.
Before the Reconstruction Amendments, slavery had been tacitly enshrined in the original Constitution. The Fugitive Slave Clause, located in Article IV, Section 2, stated that a slave remained a slave even if they fled to a non-slavery state. Additionally, the Three-Fifths Compromise, mentioned in Article I, Section 2, Clause 3, referred to enslaved persons as "three-fifths" of a fully free citizen for the purposes of apportioning seats in the House of Representatives and direct taxes among the states.
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The Twentieth Amendment changed the date on which a new president takes office
The US Constitution, the country's supreme law, came into effect in 1789. Since then, it has been amended 27 times.
One of these amendments is the Twentieth Amendment, which was adopted on January 23, 1933. The Twentieth Amendment changed the date on which a new president, vice president, and Congress take office.
Originally, the Constitution provided that the annual meeting was to be on the first Monday in December unless otherwise provided by law. This meant that when a new Congress was elected in November, it did not come into office until the following March, with a "lame-duck" Congress convening in the interim. By moving the beginning of the president's new term from March 4 to January 20 (and in the case of Congress, to January 3), the amendment aimed to put an end to lame-duck sessions and enable a quicker transition for the new administration and legislators. This change also reduced the time between Election Day in November and Inauguration Day, shortening the presidential transition period.
The Twentieth Amendment also includes provisions for what to do when there is no president-elect. It establishes that if the president-elect dies or is incapacitated before being inaugurated, the vice president-elect takes over the role and serves the full four-year term. Additionally, if there is no president-elect by Inauguration Day, the vice president-elect can act in that role until Congress appoints a new president.
The Twentieth Amendment's changes to the inauguration dates took effect for the 74th Congress, which was the first to use the new calendar dates on January 3, 1935. The first presidential and vice-presidential terms to begin under the new rules were those of President Roosevelt and Vice President Garner, respectively, on January 20, 1937.
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Frequently asked questions
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 became operational in 1789.
The Constitution was ratified on different dates by different states. The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the Constitution on June 21, 1788. The Constitution was not ratified by all states until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island finally approved the document.
The founders set the terms for ratifying the Constitution. They bypassed the state legislatures and called for special ratifying conventions in each state. Ratification by 9 of the 13 states enacted the new government.
The Constitution becoming a law was significant as it provided a framework for the United States government and established a powerful central government. It also set the foundation for individual liberties and justice, as well as restrictions on the powers of the government within the U.S. states.
