The Constitution of the United States
Below is a short history of how the Constitution of the United States came to be.
The Articles of Confederation
The year after the Declaration of Independence, in 1777, the Continental Congress signed off on the Articles of Confederation:
This "first constitution of the United States" established a "league of friendship" for the 13 sovereign and independent states. Each state retained "every Power ... which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States. The Articles of Confederation also outlined a Congress with representation not based on population – each state would have one vote in Congress.”
The Articles of Confederation bestowed the power to make rules and request funds from the states in the Confederation Congress, but did not bestow power to regulate commerce or or print money. Disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, threatened to tear the young country apart. A “Grand Convention” of state delegates was formed to revise the Articles.
After three … months of … heated debate, 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 kneaded it into its final form, condensing 23 articles into seven in less than four days.
Contents of the Constitution of the United States
The Constitution is the heart and soul of American democracy, creating a framework for how the government is supposed to work, outlining the rights of the people of the United States and the powers, and limitations and methods of interactions between individual states. It is composed of the preamble, the articles and the amendments. The articles came first and the amendments were added when the document needed to be updated due to changing circumstances.
The Preamble
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, 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
Paraphrased from dummies:
Article I – [Congress, which is comprised of] the House of Representatives and the Senate … drafts and passes legislation, borrows money for the nation, declares war, and raises a military. It also has the power to check and balance the other two federal branches.
In addition, Article One of the US Constitution states that "the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it".
The civil right of habeas corpus grants prisoners the right to challenge their imprisonment in a court of law.
Article II – The Executive Branch … manages day-to-day operations of government through various federal departments and agencies... At the head of this branch is the … president of the United States. The executive branch powers include making treaties with other nations, appointing federal judges, department heads, and ambassadors, and determining how to best run the country and military operations.
Article III – The Judicial Branch. Article III outlines the powers of the federal court system. The article states that the court of last resort is the U.S. Supreme Court and that the U.S. Congress has the power to determine the size and scope of those courts below it. All judges are appointed for life unless they resign or are charged with bad behavior.
Article IV – The States. This article defines the relationship between the states and the federal government. The federal government guarantees a republican form of government in each state, protects the nation and the people from foreign or domestic violence, and determines how new states can join the Union.
Article V – Amendment. Future generations can amend the Constitution if the society so requires it. Both the states and Congress have the power to initiate the amendment process.
Article VI – Debts, Supremacy, Oaths. Article VI determines that the U.S. Constitution, and all laws made from it, are the "supreme Law of the Land," and all officials, whether members of the state legislatures, Congress, judiciary, or the executive branch, have to swear an oath to the Constitution.
Article VII – Ratification. This article details all those people who signed the Constitution, representing the original 13 states.
The Bill of Rights
The delegates signed the Constitution On September 17, 1787.
Less than three years later, the Constitution underwent its most substantial change with the ratification of the first ten amendments, now defined as the Bill of Rights.
According to the National Archives:
The Bill of Rights … guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion. It sets rules for due process of law and reserves all powers not delegated to the Federal Government to the people or the States. And it specifies that “the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
Details of the Bill of Rights:
Amendment I
Freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right of the people to assemble peaceably, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II
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.
Amendment III
Soldiers cannot appropriate housing without the owner’s permission.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to not be subjected to unreasonable searches and seizures; no Warrants shall be issued without probable cause, and limiting the scope of the warrants to the place to be searched, and the people or objects to be seized
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital crime unless though indicted by a Grand Jury except in military cases, when in active service in time of War or public danger; no person shall be tried for the same offense twice, nor shall be required to witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
Amendment VI
The right of the accused to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to be provided Counsel for his defense.
Amendment VII
In civil lawsuits in federal court, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved unless waived by both parties, in which case a judge will decide the case.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX
The Ninth Amendment was James Madison’s attempt to ensure that the Bill of Rights was not seen as granting to the people of the United States only the specific rights it addressed. In recent years, some have interpreted it as affirming the existence of such “unenumerated” rights outside those expressly protected by the Bill of Rights.
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Other Constitutional Amendments
This from Google:
Here's a brief overview of some key amendments added after the Bill of Rights:
11th Amendment: Limits the ability to sue states in federal court. February 7, 1795
12th Amendment: Details the election of the president and vice-president. June 15, 1804
13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments: Known as the Reconstruction Amendments, these abolished slavery, guaranteed citizenship and equal protection under the law, and granted voting rights to African Americans. December 6, 1865, to February 3, 1870
16th Amendment: Allows for the federal income tax. February 3, 1913
17th Amendment: Introduces direct election of US senators by voters. Ratified April 8, 1913
18th Amendment: Prohibited the production, sale, and transportation of alcohol (Prohibition). January 16, 1919
19th Amendment: Gives women the right to vote. August 18, 1920
20th Amendment: Addresses the timing of federal official terms and the convening of Congress. January 23, 1933
21st Amendment: Repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, which had established Prohibition December 5, 1933
22nd Amendment: Limits the number of terms a person can serve as President. February 27, 1951
23rd Amendment: Grants the District of Columbia (D.C.) the right to participate in presidential elections by allowing its citizens to vote for presidential electors. March 29, 1961.
24th Amendment: Elimination of poll taxes. January 23, 1964.
25th Amendment: Provides procedures for replacing the president or vice president in the event of death, removal, resignation, or incapacitation. January 10, 1967
26th Amendment: Lowered the voting age to 18. July 1, 1971
27th Amendment: Restricts congressional pay raises. May 7, 1992