Constitution of the United States

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It took the place of an earlier set of rules called the Articles of Confederation on March 4, 1789. It has seven main parts and describes how the government of the United States works.

Many important leaders, called the Founding Fathers, wrote the Constitution at a meeting called the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. They finished writing it between May 25 and September 17, 1787, at a place called Independence Hall. The Constitution divides the government into three parts: the legislative part that makes laws, the executive part led by the president, and the judiciary part that decides court cases.

Since 1789, the Constitution has been changed 27 times through additions called amendments. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, protect important freedoms. Other amendments expanded rights and changed how the government works. The Constitution of the United States is the oldest and longest-used written constitution in the world and has influenced many other countries.

History

See also: History of the United States Constitution

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of drafting and ratification of the United States Constitution.

Background

Main article: Articles of Confederation

From September 5, 1774, to March 1, 1781, the Second Continental Congress, met in Philadelphia in what is now Independence Hall, and acted as the provisional government of the United States. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first constitution of the United States. It was drafted by a committee appointed by the Second Continental Congress in mid-June 1777 and was adopted by the full Congress in mid-November of that year. Ratification by the 13 colonies took more than three years and was completed on March 1, 1781. The Articles gave little power to the central government. While the Confederation Congress had some decision-making abilities, it lacked enforcement powers. The implementation of most decisions, including amendments to the Articles, required legislative approval by all 13 of the newly formed states.

Despite these limitations, the league of states was considered strong as any similar republican confederation ever formed. The chief problem was "no money". The Confederated Congress could print money, but it was worthless, and while the Congress could borrow money, it could not pay it back. No state paid its share of taxes to support the government, and some paid nothing. By 1786, the United States was facing default on its outstanding debts.

Under the Articles, the United States had little ability to defend its sovereignty. Most of the troops in the nation's 625-man army were deployed facing non-threatening British forts on American soil. Soldiers were not being paid, some were deserting, and others were threatening mutiny. Spain closed New Orleans to American commerce, despite the protests of U.S. officials. When Barbary pirates began seizing American ships of commerce, the Treasury had no funds to pay toward ransom. If a military crisis required action, the Congress had no credit or taxing power to finance a response.

Domestically, the Articles of Confederation was failing to bring unity to the diverse sentiments and interests of the various states. Although the Treaty of Paris in 1783 was signed between Britain and the U.S., and named each of the American states, various states proceeded to violate it. New York and South Carolina repeatedly prosecuted Loyalists for wartime activity and redistributed their lands. Individual state legislatures independently laid embargoes, negotiated directly with foreign authorities, raised armies, and made war, all violating the letter and the spirit of the Articles.

In September 1786, during the inter–state Annapolis convention to discuss and develop a consensus about reversing the protectionist trade barriers that each state had erected, James Madison questioned whether the Articles of Confederation was a binding compact or even a viable government. Connecticut paid nothing and "positively refused" to pay U.S. assessments for two years. A rumor at the time was that a seditious party of New York legislators had opened a conversation with the Viceroy of Canada. To the south, the British were said to be openly funding Creek Indian raids on Georgia, and the state was under martial law. Additionally, during Shays' Rebellion (August 1786 – June 1787) in Massachusetts, Congress could provide no money to support an endangered constituent state. General Benjamin Lincoln was obliged to raise funds from Boston merchants to pay for a volunteer army.

Congress could do nothing significant without nine states, and some legislation required all 13. When a state produced only one member in attendance, its vote was not counted. If a state's delegation was evenly divided, its vote could not be counted towards the nine-count requirement. The Congress of the Confederation had "virtually ceased trying to govern". The vision of a respectable nation among nations seemed to be fading in the eyes of revolutionaries such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Rufus King. Their dream of a republic, a nation without hereditary rulers, with power derived from the people in frequent elections, was in doubt.

On February 21, 1787, the Confederation Congress called a convention of state delegates in Philadelphia to propose revisions to the Articles. Unlike earlier attempts, the convention was not meant for new laws or piecemeal alterations, but for the "sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation". The convention was not limited to commerce but intended to "render the federal constitution adequate to the exigencies of government and the preservation of the Union".

1787 drafting

Main articles: Constitutional Convention (United States) and James Madison as Father of the Constitution

On the appointed day, May 14, 1787, only the Virginia and Pennsylvania delegations were present, and the convention's opening meeting was postponed for lack of a quorum. A quorum of seven states met on May 25, and deliberations began. Eventually 12 states were represented, with Rhode Island refusing to participate. Of the 74 delegates appointed by the states, 55 attended. The convention's initial mandate was limited to amending the Articles of Confederation, which had proven highly ineffective in meeting the young nation's needs. Almost immediately, however, the delegates began considering measures to replace the Articles of Confederation.

Two plans for structuring the federal government arose shortly after the convention's outset:

• The first proposal discussed, introduced by delegates from Virginia, was known as the Virginia Plan, Large State Plan, or the Randolph Plan. It called for a bicameral Congress that was to be elected on a proportional basis based on state population, an elected chief executive, and an appointed judicial branch. Generally favoring the most highly populated states, it used the philosophy of John Locke to rely on consent of the governed, Montesquieu for divided government, and Edward Coke to emphasize civil liberties.
• The alternative to the Virginia Plan, known as the New Jersey Plan, also called for an elected executive but retained the legislative structure created by the Articles, a unicameral Congress where all states had one vote. Generally favoring the less-populous states, it used the philosophy of English Whigs, such as Edmund Burke, to rely on received procedure and the jurist William Blackstone to emphasize sovereignty of the legislature. This position reflected the belief that the states were independent entities and, as they entered the United States of America freely and individually, remained so.

On May 31, the Convention devolved into the Committee of the Whole, charged with considering the Virginia Plan. On June 13, the Virginia resolutions in amended form were reported out of committee. The New Jersey Plan was put forward in response to the Virginia Plan.^{[citation needed]}

On June 19, 1787, delegates rejected the New Jersey Plan with three states voting in favor, seven against, and one divided. The plan's defeat led to a series of compromises centering primarily on two issues: slavery and proportional representation.

Scope of judicial power

Proposals by Madison (Virginia) and Wilson (Pennsylvania) called for a supreme court veto over national legislation. This proposal resembled the system in New York, where the Constitution of 1777 called for a "Council of Revision" by the governor and justices of the state supreme court, which council would review and veto any passed legislation. Madison's proposal was defeated three times and replaced by a presidential veto with congressional override.

The justification for judicial review is to be explicitly found in the open ratifications held in the states and reported in their newspapers. John Marshall in Virginia, James Wilson in Pennsylvania and Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut all argued for Supreme Court judicial review of acts of state legislature. In Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton advocated the doctrine of a written document held as a superior enactment of the people. "A limited constitution can be preserved in practice no other way" than through courts which can declare void any legislation contrary to the Constitution. The preservation of the people's authority over legislatures rests "particularly with judges."

Connecticut and Three-Fifths Compromise

The issue of proportional representation was of concern to less populous states, which under the Articles had the same power as larger states. From July 2 to 16, a Committee of Eleven, including one delegate from each state represented, met to work out a compromise on the issue of representation in the federal legislature. All agreed to a republican form of government grounded in representing the people in the states. For the legislature, two issues were to be decided: (i) how the votes were to be allocated among the states in the Congress, and (ii) how the representatives should be elected. In its report, now known as the Connecticut Compromise (or "Great Compromise"), the committee proposed proportional representation for seats in the House of Representatives based on population (with the people voting for representatives), equal representation for each state in the Senate (with each state's legislators generally choosing their respective senators), and that all money bills would originate in the House.

The Great Compromise ended the stalemate between patriots and nationalists, leading to numerous other compromises in a spirit of accommodation.^{[citation needed]} The issue of slavery pitted Northern states, where slavery was slowly being abolished, against Southern states, whose agricultural economies depended on slave labor. To satisfy interests in the South, the delegates agreed to protect the slave trade for 20 years. Slavery was protected further by the Three-Fifths Compromise, which allowed states to count three-fifths of their slaves as part of their populations, for the purpose of representation in the federal government, and by requiring the return of escaped slaves to their owners, even if captured in states where slavery had been abolished. Further compromises were also made on presidential term, powers, and method of selection, as well as the jurisdiction of the federal judiciary.^{[citation needed]}

While these compromises held the Union together and aided the Constitution's ratification, slavery continued for eight more decades, and less populous states continue to have disproportional representation in the U.S. Senate and Electoral College.

Drafting and signature

On July 24, a Committee of Detail, including John Rutledge (South Carolina), Edmund Randolph (Virginia), Nathaniel Gorham (Massachusetts), Oliver Ellsworth (Connecticut), and James Wilson (Pennsylvania), was elected to draft a detailed constitution reflective of the resolutions passed by the convention up to that point. The Convention recessed from July 26 to August 6 to await the report of this "Committee of Detail". Overall, the report of the committee conformed to the resolutions adopted by the convention, adding some elements. A twenty-three article (plus preamble) constitution was presented.

From August 6 to September 10, the report of the committee of detail was discussed, section by section and clause by clause. Details were attended to, and further compromises were effected. Toward the close of these discussions, on September 8, a Committee of Style and Arrangement, including Alexander Hamilton from New York, William Samuel Johnson from Connecticut, Rufus King from Massachusetts, James Madison from Virginia, and Gouverneur Morris from Pennsylvania, was appointed to distill a final draft constitution from the 23 approved articles. The final draft, presented to the convention on September 12, contained seven articles, a preamble and a closing endorsement, of which Morris was the primary author. The committee also presented a proposed letter to accompany the constitution when delivered to Congress.

The original U.S. Constitution was handwritten on five pages of parchment by Jacob Shallus. The final document was taken up on Monday, September 17, at the convention's final session. Several of the delegates were disappointed in the result, a makeshift series of unfortunate compromises. Some delegates left before the ceremony and three others refused to sign. Of the thirty-nine signers, Benjamin Franklin summed up, addressing the convention: "There are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them." He would accept the Constitution, "because I expect no better and because I am not sure that it is not the best".

The advocates of the Constitution were anxious to obtain unanimous support of all twelve states represented in the convention. Their accepted formula for the closing endorsement was "Done in Convention, by the unanimous consent of the States present". At the end of the convention, the proposal was agreed to by eleven state delegations and the lone remaining delegate from New York, Alexander Hamilton.

Ratification by the states

Further information: History of the United States Constitution § Ratification of the Constitution

Within three days of its signing on September 17, 1787, the Constitution was submitted to the Congress of the Confederation, then sitting in New York City, the nation's temporary capital. The document, originally intended as a revision of the Articles of Confederation, instead introduced a completely new form of government. While members of Congress had the power to reject it, they voted unanimously on September 28 to forward the proposal to the thirteen states for their ratification. Under the process outlined in Article VII of the proposed Constitution, the state legislatures were tasked with organizing "Federal Conventions" to ratify the document. This process ignored the amendment provision of the Articles of Confederation which required unanimous approval of all the states. Instead, Article VII called for ratification by just nine of the 13 states—a two-thirds majority.

Two factions soon emerged, one supporting the Constitution, the Federalists, and the other opposing it, the so-called Anti-Federalists. Over the ensuing months, the proposal was debated, criticized, and expounded upon clause by clause. In the state of New York, at the time a hotbed of anti-Federalism, three delegates from the Philadelphia Convention who were also members of the Congress—Hamilton, Madison, and Jay—published a series of commentaries, now known as The Federalist Papers, in support of ratification.

Before year's end, three state legislatures voted in favor of ratification. Delaware was first, voting unanimously 30–0; Pennsylvania second, approving the measure 46–23; and New Jersey third, also recording a unanimous vote. As 1788 began, Connecticut and Georgia followed Delaware's lead with almost unanimous votes, but the outcome became less certain as leaders in key states such as Virginia, New York, and Massachusetts expressed concerns over the lack of protections for people's rights. Fearing the prospect of defeat, the Federalists relented, promising that if the Constitution was adopted, amendments would be added to secure individual liberties. With that, the anti-Federalists' position collapsed.

On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify. Three months later, on September 17, the Congress of the Confederation certified the ratification of eleven states, and passed resolutions setting dates for choosing the first senators and representatives, the first Wednesday of January (January 7, 1789); electing the first president, the first Wednesday of February (February 4); and officially starting the new government, the first Wednesday of March (March 4), when the first Congress would convene in New York City. As its final act, the Congress of Confederation agreed to acquire 100 square miles of land from Maryland and Virginia for establishing a permanent capital.

North Carolina waited to ratify the Constitution until after the Bill of Rights was passed by the new Congress, and Rhode Island's ratification would only come after a threatened trade embargo.

Aftermath

Federal judiciary

The Supreme Court was initially made up of jurists who had been intimately connected with the framing of the Constitution and the establishment of its government as law. John Jay (New York), a co-author of The Federalist Papers, served as chief justice for the first six years. The second chief justice, John Rutledge (South Carolina), was appointed by Washington in 1795 as a recess appointment, but was not confirmed by the Senate. Resigning later that year, he was succeeded in 1796 by the third chief justice, Oliver Ellsworth (Connecticut). Both Rutledge and Ellsworth were delegates to the Constitutional Convention. John Marshall (Virginia), the fourth chief justice, had served in the Virginia Ratification Convention in 1788. His 34 years of service on the Court would see some of the most important rulings to help establish the nation the Constitution had begun. Other early members of the Supreme Court who had been delegates to the Constitutional Convention included James Wilson (Pennsylvania) for ten years, and John Blair Jr. (Virginia) for five years.^{[citation needed]}

Section 1, Article 3 provides that Congress can create lower (or "inferior") courts. The Judiciary Act of 1789 saw Congress's first exercise of such power. Currently, Title 28 of the U.S. Code describes judicial powers and administration. As of the First Congress, the Supreme Court justices rode circuit to sit as panels to hear appeals from the district courts. In 1891, Congress enacted a new system, where district courts would have original jurisdiction; intermediate appellate circuit courts with exclusive jurisdiction heard regional appeals before consideration by the Supreme Court; and the Supreme Court holds discretionary jurisdiction.

No part of the Constitution expressly authorizes judicial review, but the framers did contemplate the idea, and precedent has since established that the courts could exercise judicial review over the actions of Congress or the executive branch. To establish a federal system of national law, considerable effort goes into developing a spirit of comity between federal government and states. By the doctrine of res judicata, federal courts give "full faith and credit" to State Courts. The Supreme Court will decide Constitutional issues of state law only on a case-by-case basis, and only by strict Constitutional necessity, independent of state legislators' motives, their policy outcomes or its national wisdom. Two conflicting federal laws are under "pendent" jurisdiction if one presents a strict constitutional issue. Federal court jurisdiction is rare when a state legislature enacts something as under federal jurisdiction.

Amendments

Clauses 4 and 9 of Article One, Section 9 were explicitly shielded from Constitutional amendment prior to 1808. On January 1, 1808, the first day it was permitted to do so, Congress approved legislation prohibiting the importation of slaves into the country. On February 3, 1913, with ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment, Congress gained the authority to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on the United States Census.

Influences

The U.S. Constitution was shaped by many important ideas and documents. One key influence was the Magna Carta, an old document from 1215 that helped protect people’s rights in England. The Constitution’s idea of separating powers in government came mostly from thinkers like Montesquieu and John Locke.

These thinkers, along with others like Edward Coke and William Blackstone, were often discussed when the Constitution was being written. Even famous American leaders like Thomas Jefferson looked to these ideas when they built the new government. They wanted a system that would work better than the governments they saw in Europe at the time.

Structure

The Constitution of the United States has four main parts: an introduction called the Preamble, seven Articles that explain how the government works, a closing part with signatures from 39 people who helped create it, and 27 changes called amendments.

The Preamble starts with the famous words, "We the People," showing that the government gets its power from the people, not just the states. It lists six important goals for the new government.

The closing part includes the signatures of the people who agreed to the Constitution on September 17, 1787. This part was written in a way that made it easier for everyone to agree on the new government.

Articles

Main article: List of clauses of the United States Constitution

The Constitution has seven main parts called articles. These articles explain the basic structure of the government of the United States. Even when parts have been changed by amendments, the original text is still kept, with special marks to show what no longer applies.

Article I – The Legislature

Main article: Article One of the United States Constitution

Article I talks about Congress, which is the law-making part of the government. Congress has two parts: the Senate and the House of Representatives. People elected by the people in each state serve in both parts of Congress.

Article II – The Executive

Main article: Article Two of the United States Constitution

Article II explains the job of the president of the United States. The president leads the government, makes treaties with other countries with the Senate’s approval, and makes sure the laws are followed. The president can also appoint important government workers when the Senate is not in session.

Article III – The Judiciary

Main article: Article Three of the United States Constitution

Article III is about the court system, including the Supreme Court. Federal courts have the power to decide real cases and controversies, and they must have people with a real interest in the case. These courts also protect the right to a trial by jury in criminal cases.

Article IV – The States

Main article: Article Four of the United States Constitution

Article IV describes how the states relate to each other and to the federal government. It talks about how new states can join the country, how states can change their borders, and how people can move freely between states. It also says that each state must respect the laws and court decisions of the other states.

Article V – Amendment Process

Main article: Article Five of the United States Constitution

Article V explains how the Constitution can be changed, or amended. It was written to make it possible to update the Constitution without making it too easy to change.

Article VI – Federal Powers

Main article: Article Six of the United States Constitution

Article VI states that the Constitution and all federal laws are the highest laws in the land. It also says that anyone serving in government must support the Constitution and that there will be no requirement about religion for anyone holding public office.

Article VII – Ratification

Main article: Article Seven of the United States Constitution

Article VII explains how the Constitution was put into effect. It needed to be approved by special groups in nine states before it could become the country’s main law. The other states could then join later.

Amendments

The United States Constitution can be changed through a process called amendment, which is described in Article V. Between 1949 and 1985, this process was managed by the archivist of the United States, and before that, by the administrator of General Services and the secretary of state.

To propose an amendment, two-thirds of both houses of Congress must agree, or two-thirds of state legislatures must request a national convention. After this, Congress decides if the amendment will be ratified by state legislatures or state conventions. The amendment becomes part of the Constitution once three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50) ratify it. The Constitution has twenty-seven amendments today.

The first ten amendments, added in 1791, are known as the Bill of Rights. They protect important freedoms like freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. Other amendments address topics like voting rights, the process for electing senators, and limits on presidential terms. Some amendments, like the one ending slavery and another giving citizens the right to vote regardless of race, were added after the Civil War.

Bill of Rights (1791)

First Amendment

The First Amendment protects freedoms such as freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the right to petition. It ensures people can hold any religious beliefs and practice them freely, and it stops the government from creating an official national religion.

Second Amendment

The Second Amendment protects the right of people to keep and bear arms. The government can place some limits on the manufacture, ownership, and sale of firearms or other weapons.

Third Amendment

The Third Amendment stops the government from forcing people to let soldiers stay in their homes during peacetime without their agreement. This rule came about because of past actions by British soldiers during the Revolutionary War.

Fourth Amendment

The Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by government officials. This includes searches of homes, cars, or personal belongings, and seizures of items or people. It also places limits on how police can investigate crimes.

Fifth Amendment

The Fifth Amendment says that a major crime can only go to trial after a grand jury decides. It also protects people from being tried again for the same crime (double jeopardy), from being punished without due process of law, and from having to tell information that could incriminate or be used against them. It also stops the government from taking private property without paying fair price.

Sixth Amendment

The Sixth Amendment gives people accused of crimes the right to a fair, speedy, and public trial with a local and impartial jury. It also ensures the right to a legal counsel, the right to witnesses, and the right to know the charges against them.

Seventh Amendment

The Seventh Amendment gives people the right to a jury trial in federal civil cases. It stops courts from changing the facts decided by a jury in these cases.

Eighth Amendment

The Eighth Amendment stops setting bail or fines so high that only very rich people can pay. It also stops cruel and unusual punishment. This includes very harsh punishments that don’t fit the crime.

Ninth Amendment

The Ninth Amendment says that people have other important rights besides those listed in the Constitution. These rights include the right to travel, vote, privacy, and make personal health care decisions.

Tenth Amendment

The Tenth Amendment says that the federal government can only do what the Constitution specifically allows. Any powers not listed are left to the states or the people. This includes things like family relations, local laws, and some business activities within a state.

Remaining amendments (1795–present)

Eleventh Amendment (1795)

The Eleventh Amendment stops federal courts from hearing cases where a state is sued by someone from another state or another country.

Twelfth Amendment (1804)

The Twelfth Amendment changes how the Electoral College chooses the president and vice president. It requires separate votes for each, and suggests the president and vice president should not be from the same state.

Reconstruction Amendments (1865–1870)

The Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery and involuntary servitude. The Fourteenth Amendment gave United States citizenship to former slaves and all people under U.S. jurisdiction, and added new limits on state power. The Fifteenth Amendment stopped using race, color, or past slavery status to decide who can vote.

Sixteenth Amendment (1913)

The Sixteenth Amendment allowed Congress to collect taxes on income without needing to divide them equally among the states.

Seventeenth Amendment (1913)

The Seventeenth Amendment changed how senators are chosen, allowing people to vote for them directly instead of having state legislatures choose them.

Prohibition Amendments (1919–1933)

The Eighteenth Amendment stopped the making, transporting, and selling of alcoholic drinks nationwide. The Twenty-first Amendment later ended this prohibition and let each state decide its own rules about alcohol.

Nineteenth Amendment (1920)

The Nineteenth Amendment stopped the government from denying women the right to vote on the same terms as men.

Twentieth Amendment (1933)

The Twentieth Amendment changed when new presidents, vice presidents, and Congress members start their jobs, moving the date earlier to reduce the time between elections and the new term beginning.

Twenty-second Amendment (1951)

The Twenty-second Amendment limits a president to two terms in office, or eight years total.

Twenty-third Amendment (1961)

The Twenty-third Amendment gave citizens living in the District of Columbia the right to vote in presidential elections by giving the District electors in the Electoral College.

Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964)

The Twenty-fourth Amendment stopped requiring people to pay a poll tax to vote.

Twenty-fifth Amendment (1967)

The Twenty-fifth Amendment explains what happens if the president dies, leaves office, or becomes unable to do their job. It also explains how a new vice president is chosen if needed.

Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971)

The Twenty-sixth Amendment stopped the government from denying the right to vote to United States citizens who are eighteen years old or older because of their age.

Twenty-seventh Amendment (1992)

The Twenty-seventh Amendment stops members of Congress from giving themselves pay raises during the current term. Any pay raises must wait until the next term.

Unratified amendments

Members of the House and Senate often suggest around 150 amendments every two years, but most never move past the early stages. Six amendments approved by Congress have not been ratified by enough states to become part of the Constitution.

Pending

• The Congressional Apportionment Amendment (proposed 1789) would set a formula for deciding the number of representatives each state gets in the House after each ten-year census.
• The Titles of Nobility Amendment (proposed 1810) would take away United States citizenship from anyone who accepts a noble title from another country.
• The Corwin Amendment (proposed 1861) would stop Congress and the states from changing laws about domestic institutions like slavery.
• The Child Labor Amendment (proposed 1924) would let Congress make laws about work for people under eighteen.

Expired

• The Equal Rights Amendment (proposed 1972) would stop the government from treating people unfairly based on gender. It did not get enough states to approve it before the time limit ran out.
• The District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment (proposed 1978) would have given the District of Columbia full voting rights in Congress. It also did not get enough states to approve it before the time limit ran out.

Judicial review

Courts created by the Constitution can check the actions of government leaders and laws to make sure they follow the Constitution, which is the highest law in the country. These courts can decide if actions by government leaders or laws made by states go against the Constitution.

The main idea is that the Constitution is the most important law and can only be changed through a special process. All parts of the government have powers listed in the Constitution, and courts make sure these powers are used correctly. Courts can stop any law or action that does not follow the Constitution. They base their decisions on the Constitution and past court rulings.

In anthropology and sociology

Main article: American civil religion

Some people think that important papers like the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights are very special to many Americans. These papers are like important parts of a shared belief for some, helping to bring together people from many different backgrounds in the United States.

Worldwide influence

Main article: Worldwide influence of the Constitution of the United States

The Constitution of the United States has inspired many other countries. Its ideas about fair laws, separating government powers, and protecting people’s rights have been used around the world, especially until the 1970s. Leaders like Abraham Lincoln in the United States, Benito Juárez in Mexico, José Rizal in the Philippines, and Sun Yat-sen in China all looked to America’s constitution when they were building their own nations. Even the writers of Australia’s constitution used some of the same ideas.

Since the 1980s, other countries have been making or updating their own constitutions, which some believe is harder to do in the United States.

Criticism

Further information: History of the United States Constitution § Criticism of the Constitution

The United States Constitution has faced many criticisms since it was created in 1787.

Originally, the Constitution did not clearly say who could vote. Each state decided its own voting rules. In the early years of the United States, most states only allowed white men who owned property to vote. New Jersey was different, allowing women to vote under the same conditions as men. It wasn’t until after the American Civil War, between 1865 and 1870, that changes were made to end slavery and give rights to former slaves. Even then, these changes did not stop voting discrimination based on gender. It took until 1920, with the Nineteenth Amendment, for the Constitution to ensure that no citizen could be denied the right to vote because of their sex.

A study from 2012 found that the U.S. Constitution lists fewer rights protections compared to many other countries. It also includes the right to keep and bear arms, which is shared by only a few other nations. Some experts say the Constitution is very hard to change, which they believe has kept some outdated rules in place.

Commemorations

In 1937, the U.S. Post Office, encouraged by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, released a special stamp to honor the 150th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. The stamp featured a painting of delegates signing the Constitution from 1787. The next year, another stamp celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Constitution's ratification. Later, in 1987, the U.S. Mint created special commemorative coins to mark the 200th anniversary of the Constitution's signing.