"The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon"
-George Washington

"Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties"
-Abraham Lincoln

The Constitution of the United States is one of the most remarkable documents in history. Written over 200 years ago in 1787, it established the frame of government for the United States of America. It was written by a group of delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their goal was to create a stronger federal government than the Articles of Confederation had provided. The American states after gaining their independence from England; started operating under an agreement called the Articles of Confederation. They met to alter the Articles, but decided to start all over and make a Federal (United) government.

Articles of Confederation is also referred to as America's 1st Constitution

INSPIRATION FROM COMMERCIAL CONVENTIONS

The call for a Constitutional Convention grew out of the two meetings, the Alexandria and Annapolis inventions. In November 1785, delegates from Virginia and Maryland met in Alexandria, Virginia to reconcile some boundary and commercial disputes along the Potomac River. The success of their meeting motivated Virginia to call for another meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, the following year. Nine states were invited to discuss additional common problems but only five sent delegates. The delegates in Annapolis made plans for another convention to assemble in Philadelphia in May 1787. All states were requested to send delegates so that problems with the government under the articles could be addressed.

PLANS FOR GOVERNMENTS

Following were the two plans for governmental affairs of the United States:

Virginia Plan (proposed by Edmund Rudolph)
New Jersey Plan (proposed by William Paterson)

These two plans had opposite views regarding the powers and functions of Central government and State governments. These opposing forces were followed by Connecticut Compromise which is also called The Great Compromise)

Picture showing Virginia Plan, New Jersey Plan & The Great Compromise features

FINAL DRAFT OF THE CONSTITUTION

THREE-FIFTHS COMPROMISE

The Three-Fifths Compromise was reached between Southern States (Slave States) and the Northern States (Free States) who had completely abolished Slavery from their part.

RATIFICATION

In mid September 1787, the convention put its various decisions into a finished draft and submitted the Constitution to the States for approval. In a bold change, the provision for ratification was altered from the unanimous vote demanded by the Articles of Confederation. Instead a majority of nine states was needed for approval. State conventions were held, and over the next ten months, all but two states, Rhode Island and North Carolina, ratified the Constitution. The new government as defined by the Constitution of the United States convened for the first time in April 1789, The last two of the original thirteen states ratified the Constitution after the new government had begun; North Carolina in November 1789 and Rhode Island in May 1790.

SALIENT FEATURES OF US CONSTITUTION

It is written and brief
Rigid Constitution
Federal by Nature
Separation of Powers
System of Checks and Balance
Judicial Review
Independent Powerful Judiciary
Sovereignty of the People
Supremacy of the Constitution
Republicanism
Presidential System
Bill of Rights
Dual Citizenship
Spoils System

The System of Checks and Balance is the beauty of US Federal System of Government

Spoils System is another strange and important aspect of the US Constitution

AMENDMENTS IN THE US CONSTITUTION

The US Constitution has been amended twenty seven times since its inception.

First Ten Amendments in the US Constitution

Amendments 11th to 27th in the US Constitution

Thank You for taking time to read this article. In the next article of this series, I shall discuss the War of 1812 and its aftermaths!

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