The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America and is the oldest codified written national constitution still in force. It was completed on September 17, 1787, with its adoption by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was later
ratified by special conventions called for that purpose in each of the then-existing thirteen American states. It created a more unified government in place
of what was then a group of semi-independent states operating under the Articles of Confederation. It took effect in 1789 and has
served as a model for the constitutions of numerous other nations.
The original copy of the Constitution is on permanent display at the National Archives
in Washington, D.C.
History
Main article: History of the United States Constitution
After the Revolutionary War, the 13 colonies
first formed a very weak central government under the Articles of Confederation. This government lacked, for example, any power to impose taxes as it had no method of enforcing payment. It could not even control commerce between the
states, leading to a series of conflicting tax laws and tariffs between states. Not
only this, but the Articles required unanimous consent from all the states before any changes could take effect. States took it
so lightly that their representatives were often absent, and the national legislature was very frequently blocked from doing
anything, even ineffectual things, pending appearance of a quorum.
In September, 1786, commissioners from five states met in the Annapolis Convention (1786) to discuss
adjustments to the Articles of Confederation that would improve commerce. They invited state representatives to convene in
Philadelphia to discuss improvements to the
federal government. After debate, the Confederation Congress endorsed the plan to revise the Articles of Confederation on February 21, 1787. Twelve states (Rhode Island being the only exception) accepted this invitation and sent delegates to convene in May,
1787. The resolution calling the Convention specified its purpose was to propose amendments
to the Articles, but the Convention ignored its limitations. It voted to keep deliberations secret, and decided to draft a new
fundamental government design which eventually stipulated that only 9 of the 13 states would have to ratify for the new
government to go into effect. All this was criticized as far exceeding the convention's mandate, and being extralegal besides,
but the paralysis of the Articles of Confederation government was evident and the Congress agreed to submit the proposal to the
States despite the exceeded terms of reference. On September 17, 1787, the
Constitution was completed in Philadephia, and the new government it prescribed came into existence on March 4, 1789, after fierce fights over ratification in many of the states.
For a list of those who signed the Constitution, see List of signers of the United States Constitution.
The Constitution
The U.S. Constitution styles itself the "supreme law of the land". Courts have interpreted this phrase to mean that when laws
(including state constitutions) that have been passed by state
legislatures, or by the (national) U.S.
Congress, are found to conflict with the federal Constitution, these laws are null and have no effect. Decisions by the
Supreme Court over the course of two centuries have repeatedly confirmed and strengthened doctrine of Constitutional supremacy,
or the supremacy clause.
Final political and governmental authority under the Constitution is vested in the American electorate, who can change the
fundamental law, if they wish, by amending the Constitution or, in the extreme, by drafting a new one. The people do not exercise
this authority directly, however. They delegate the day-to-day business of government to public officials, both elected and
appointed; some of these are provided for in the Constitution.
The power of public officials is limited. Their official actions must conform to the Constitution, and to the laws made in
accordance with the Constitution. Elected officials can only continue in office if they are re-elected at periodic intervals.
Appointed officials serve, in general, at the pleasure of the person or authority who appointed them, and may be removed at any
time. The exception to this practice is the lifetime appointment by the President of Justices of the Supreme Court and other
federal judges; the intent of this exception is that they may be free of political obligations or influence.
The principles of government
Although the Constitution has changed in many respects since it was first adopted,
its basic principles remain the same now as in 1789.
There are three main branches of government—executive, legislative, and judicial—and
they are separate and distinct from one another. The powers
given to each are balanced and checked by the powers of the other two. Each branch serves as a check on potential excesses of the others.
The United States is federal in nature. Powers enumerated in the
Constitution are given to the Federal Government, and all other, unenumerated, powers remain with the states. (See the Tenth
Amendment.)
The Constitution, together with laws passed according to its provisions and treaties
entered into by the president and approved by the Senate, stands above all other laws,
executive acts, and regulations. Beginning with the case of Marbury v. Madison, the United States judiciary has engaged in judicial review. This means that the federal courts will examine duly enacted laws, and, if they are
found to be unconstitutional, will overturn them. They also
examine the acts of public officials—up to and including those of the President. (See United States v. Nixon.)
Since the enactment of the Fourteenth Amendment, all persons have been equally entitled to the law's protection. All states are
equal and none can officially receive special treatment from the federal government. Within the limits of the Constitution, each
state must recognize and respect the laws of the others. State governments, like the federal government, must be republican in form, with final authority resting with the people.
The people have the right to change their form of national government by means defined in the Fifth Article of the
Constitution itself.
Preamble
Main article: Preamble to the United States Constitution
The Preamble to the United States Constitution consists of a single sentence
that introduces the document and its purpose. The Preamble itself neither grants any powers nor inhibits any actions. It only
explains the rationale behind the Constitution. The preamble, especially the first three words ("We the people"), is one of the
most often-quoted and referenced sections of the Constitution.
The major governmental goals stated in the Preamble include:
- Providing for better cooperation among the states
- Ensuring justice and peace
- Providing for defense against invasion
- Promote the general well being of the population
- Securing liberties now and in the future
Articles of the Constitution
The remainder of the constitution consists of seven articles; the separation is, generally, reflective of the idea of
separation of powers.
Article One
Article
One establishes the legislative branch of government, U.S. Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and
the Senate. The Article establishes the manner of election
and qualifications of members of each House. In addition, it outlines legislative procedure and indicates the powers of the
legislative branch. Finally, it establishes limits on federal and state legislative power.
Article One is the longest of the seven Articles. Amendments to Article One, unlike amendments to other articles, are
restricted by the Constitution. No amendment made prior to 1808 could affect the first and
fourth clauses of Section Nine of this Article. The former clause prevented Congress from prohibiting the slave trade until 1808; the latter required
direct taxes to be apportioned among the states according to their populations. Furthermore,
the Constitution precludes Congress from depriving a state of equal representation in the Senate (see below) without its consent.
Article One also includes the Commerce Clause, granting Congress the
power to regulate both international and interstate trade.
Article Two
Article
Two describes the presidency (the executive branch): procedures for the selection of the president,
qualifications for office, the oath to be affirmed, the powers and duties of the office, and procedures for selection. It also
provides for the office of Vice
President of the United States, a figure whose official role is to step in if the President is incapacitated or resigns, and
to serve as the presiding officer for debate in the Senate, with a vote in cases of tie. Article Two also contains the clause
that allows for impeachment of Constitutional officers (President, Vice
President, Judges). (See presidential system)
Article Three
Article Three describes the court system (the judicial
branch), including the Supreme
Court. The article requires that there be one court called the Supreme Court; Congress, at its discretion, can create
lower courts, whose judgments and orders are reviewable by the Supreme Court. Article Three also requires trial by jury in all criminal cases, defines the crime of treason, and charges Congress with providing for a punishment for it, while imposing limits on that
punishment.
Article Four
Article
Four describes the relationship between the states and the Federal government, and amongst the states. For instance, it
requires states to give "full faith and credit" to the public acts, records and court proceedings of the other states. Congress
is permitted to regulate the manner in which proof of such acts, records or
proceedings may be admitted. The "privileges and immunities" clause prohibits from discriminating against those from other states
in favor of their own citizens (e.g., having tougher penalties for out-of-staters convicted of crimes within a state). It also
establishes extradition between the states, as well as laying down a legal
basis for freedom of movement and travel amongst the states. Today, this provision is sometimes taken for granted, especially by
citizens who live near state borders; but in the days of the Articles of Confederation, crossing state lines was often a much more arduous (and costly)
process.
Article Five
Article
Five describes the process necessary to amend the Constitution. It provides for two methods of proposing amendments: either
two-thirds of the state legislatures can request a convention for
the purpose of considering amendments, or Congress can propose an amendment by a two-thirds majority vote of each house. Proposed
amendments, whether submitted by a convention or by Congress, must be ratified by three-fourths of the states to take effect; the
Article gives Congress the option of requiring ratification by state legislatures or by conventions called in each state. Article
Five currently places only one limitation on the amending power—that no amendment can deprive a state of its equal
representation in the Senate without the state's consent.
Article Six
Article
Six establishes the Constitution, and the laws and treaties of the United States made in accordance with it, to be the
supreme law of the land. It also validates national debt created under the Articles of Confederation and requires that all legislators, federal
officers, and judges take oaths to support the Constitution.
Article Seven
Article Seven sets forth the requirements for ratification of the
Constitution. The Constitution was originally proposed as an amendment of the Articles of Confederation, which required
ratification by all 13 of the original states for amendments to take effect. Article Seven of the Constitution, however, only
required ratification by 9 states for that document to take effect. Scholars have traditionally resolved this contradiction by
arguing that when the ninth state ratified the Constitution and the document took effect, those 9 states implicitly seceded from
the union governed by the Articles and created a new, separate federal union. Under this theory, those states that did not ratify
the Constitution would have remained part of a separate country. However, eventually all the states did ratify the
Constitution.
Provisions for amendment
The authors of the Constitution were clearly aware that changes would be needed from time to time if the Constitution was to
endure and cope with the effects of the anticipated growth of the nation. However, they were also conscious that such change
should not be easy, lest it permit ill-conceived and hastily passed amendments. Balancing this, they also wanted to ensure that an overly-rigid requirement of
unanimity would not block action desired by the vast majority of the people. Their solution was to devise a dual process by which
the Constitution could be changed.
The first option must begin in Congress which, by a two-thirds vote (of a quorum) in each house, may initiate an amendment.
Alternatively, the legislatures of two-thirds of the states may ask Congress to call a national convention to discuss and draft
amendments. To date, all amendments have been proposed by Congress; although state legislatures have on occasion requested the
calling of a convention, no such request has yet received the required concurrence of two-thirds of the states.
In either case, amendments must have the approval of the legislatures or conventions of three-fourths of the existing states
before they become part of the Constitution. All amendments save one have been submitted to the state legislatures for
ratification; only the 21st Amendment was ratified by conventions.
Some people feel that demographic changes in the U.S.—specifically
the great disparity in population between states—have made the Constitution too difficult to amend, with states
representing as little as 4% of the population theoretically able to block an amendment desired by over 90% of Americans; others
feel that it's unlikely that such an extreme result would happen. However, any proposals to change this would necessarily involve
amending the Constitution itself, creating something of a Catch-22.
Aside from the direct process of changing the Constitution, the practical effect of its provisions may be changed by judicial
decision. The United States is a common law country, and courts are obliged to
follow the precedents established in prior cases. However, when a Supreme Court
decision clarifies the application of a part of the Constitution to existing law, the effect is to establish the meaning of that
part for all practical purposes. Not long after adoption of the Constitution, in the 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court established the doctrine of
judicial review, which is the power of the Court to examine
legislation and other acts of Congress and to decide their constitutionality. The doctrine also embraces the power of the Court
to explain the meaning of various sections of the Constitution as they apply to particular cases brought before the Court. Since
such cases will reflect changing legal, political, economic, and social conditions, this provides a mechanism, in practice, for
adjusting the Constitution outside of amendments. Over the years, a series of Court decisions, on issues ranging from
governmental regulation of radio and television to the rights of the accused in criminal cases, has had the effect of modifying what had been
previously understood to be the meaning of many Constitutional clauses, with no change in the actual text of the Constitution
itself.
Congressional legislation, passed to implement provisions of the Constitution or to adapt those implementations to changing
conditions, also broadens and, in subtle ways, changes the meaning of the Constitution. Up to a point, the rules and regulations
of the many agencies of the federal government have a similar effect. In case of objection, the test in both cases is whether, in
the opinion of the courts, such legislation and rules conform with the meaning of the Constitution.
Amendments
The Constitution has a total of 27 amendments. However, since the first ten of the amendments—the Bill of
Rights—were ratified simultaneously, it has in effect only been amended 18 times. This relatively small number is usually
attributed to the simplicity and flexibility of the document: it is written in broad terms that are continually reinterpreted by
the courts.
The Bill of Rights (1–10)
Main article: United States Bill of
Rights
The Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Those amendments were all adopted within a few
years of the ratification of the Constitution, and all relate to limiting the power of the federal government. They were added in
response to criticisms of the Constitution by the state ratification conventions and by prominent individuals such as Thomas Jefferson (who was a not a delegate to the Constitutional
Convention). These critics argued that without further restraints, the strong central government would tyrannize citizens. The
amendments were proposed by Congress as part of a block of twelve in September 1789. By
December 1791 a sufficient number of states had ratified ten of the twelve proposals, and
the Bill of Rights was adopted.
Originally, the Bill of Rights was not intended to apply to the states; for instance, some states in the early years of the
nation officially established a religion. This interpretation of these Amendments remained until 1868, when the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, which stated, in part, that:
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States;
nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The Supreme Court has interpreted this clause to extend some, but not all, parts of the Bill of Rights to the states.
Nevertheless, the balance of state and federal power has remained a battle in the Supreme Court; for example, a recent case dealt
with whether a state could be sued by an employee under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (see Federalist Society and Federalism).
The amendments that became the Bill of Rights were actually the last ten of the twelve amendments proposed in 1789. The second
of the twelve proposed amendments, regarding the compensation of members of Congress, remained unratified until 1992, when the legislatures of enough states finally approved it and, as a result, it became the
Twenty-seventh Amendment despite more than two centuries of
pendency. The first of the
twelve—still technically pending before the state legislatures for ratification—pertains to the apportionment of
the United States House of
Representatives after each decennial census. The most recent state whose lawmakers
are known to have ratified this proposal is Kentucky in 1792 during that commonwealth's first month of statehood.
The ten amendments collectively known as the Bill of Rights remain as they were adopted two centuries ago.
The first guarantees freedom of worship, speech, and press; the
right of peaceful assembly; and the right to petition the government to correct wrongs. It also prohibits Congress from passing
"any law respecting an establishment of religion"—making this amendment a battlefield in the late-20th century culture
wars.
The second guarantees the right to keep and bear arms to a well-regulated
militia (well-regulated meaning fit for a purpose and militia meaning the body of citizens likely to be of
service in defense of the state). Current case law (including U.S. Supreme Court decisions) indicates that it is an individual right but not an
absolute right, and that the states and federal government may omit certain classes of people from the general-public
sense of the militia for cause (criminal record, young or old age, mental incapacity, etc.), and may limit the types of
weapons to which the right applies. The courts have interpreted and re-interpreted the second amendment since it was ratified;
the Supreme Court first visiting it in United
States v. Cruikshank, in 1875.
The third provides that troops may not be quartered, (i.e. allowed to
reside) in private homes without the owner's consent. The fourth guards against unreasonable searches, arrests, and seizures
of property.
The next four amendments deal with the system of justice. The fifth
forbids trial for a major crime except after
indictment by a grand jury;
prohibits repeated trials for the same offense after an acquittal
(except in certain very limited circumstances); forbids punishment without due
process of law; and provides that an accused person may not be compelled to testify against himself. The sixth
guarantees a speedy public trial for criminal offenses. It requires trial by a jury (of
peers), guarantees the right to legal counsel for the accused, and provides that witnesses shall
be compelled to attend the trial and testify in the presence of the accused. The seventh assures trial by jury in civil cases involving anything valued at more than 20 U.S.
dollars. The eighth forbids excessive bail or
fines, and cruel or unusual punishment.
The last two of the first ten amendments contain very broad statements of constitutional authority. The ninth
declares that the listing of individual rights is not meant to be comprehensive; that the people have other rights not
specifically mentioned in the Constitution. The tenth provides that powers the Constitution does not assign to the
federal government or does not prohibit the states from having are reserved for the states or the people to exercise.
The Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments have placed some fundamental human rights at the center of the U.S. legal system,
and have served as a model for others.
Subsequent amendments (11–27)
Amendments to the Constitution subsequent to the Bill of Rights cover a wide range of subjects. The majority of the seventeen
later amendments stem from continued efforts to expand individual civil or political liberties, while a few are concerned with
modifying the basic governmental structure drafted in Philadelphia in 1787.
There also have been many failed attempts to amend the Constitution. There are some that are still ongoing today. See proposed amendments to the United States constitution
Failed amendments
Over 10,000 Constitutional amendments have been proposed in Congress since 1789; in a typical Congressional year in the last
several decades, between 100 and 200 are proposed. Most of these proposals never get out of Congressional committee, much less
get passed by the Congress. Backers of some amendments have attempted the alternative method mentioned in Article Five, but no
proposal of this sort has ever gotten far enough to be considered by all the state legislatures.
The Eighteenth Amendment is the only amendment to be directly and specifically repealed by another (the Twenty-first). The
episode highlighted the importance of proposing and ratifying only the most important, and least evanescent, of amendments.
Of the thirty-three amendments that have been proposed by Congress, six have failed ratification by the required
three-quarters of the state legislatures—and four of those six are still technically pending before state lawmakers.
Starting with the 18th amendment, each proposed amendment (except for the 19th Amendment and for the still-pending child labor
amendment of 1924) has specified a deadline for passage. The following are the failed amendments:
- The Congressional
Apportionment Amendment proposed by the 1st
Congress on September 25, 1789
defined a formula for how many members there would be in the United States House of Representatives after each decennial census. Ratified by eleven states, the last being Kentucky in
1792, this amendment contains no expiration date for ratification. In principle it may yet
be ratified, though as written it became moot when the population of the United States reached ten million.
- The so-called missing thirteenth
amendment, or "Title of Nobility Amendment" (TONA), proposed by the 11th Congress on May
1, 1810, which would have eliminated the citizenship of any American accepting "any
title of nobility or honour" from any foreign power. A few people maintain that this amendment was actually ratified by the
legislatures of enough states, and that it has been illegally removed from the Constitution. Known to have been ratified by
lawmakers in at least twelve states, the last in 1812, this amendment contains no
expiration date for ratification. It may yet be ratified.
- A pro-slavery proposal, known as the Corwin amendment, proposed
by the 36th Congress on
March 2, 1861 which would purportedly have
prevented the passage of any future constitutional amendment allowing Congress to regulate "the domestic institutions" within any
state. It was ratified by only Ohio and Maryland lawmakers before the outbreak of the Civil
War. Illinois lawmakers—sitting as a state constitutional convention at
the time—likewise approved it, but that action is of questionable validity. The proposed amendment contains no expiration
date for ratification. Passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments after the Civil War have made this proposal effectively
moot. (Presumably, however, any such subsequent amendment on this subject would likely include the withdrawal of this
still-pending proposal.)
- A child labor amendment proposed by the 68th Congress on June 2, 1924 which stipulates: "The Congress shall have power to limit, regulate, and prohibit the labor of persons
under eighteen years of age." Since this amendment was not ratified, this power theoretically remains with the states: however,
subsequent federal child labor laws have uniformly been upheld as a
valid exercise of Congress' powers under the commerce clause. This
amendment contains no expiration date for ratification. It may yet be ratified.
- The Equal Rights Amendment, or ERA, which reads in
pertinent part "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account
of sex." Proposed by the 92nd
Congress on March 22, 1972, it was
ratified by the legislatures of 35 states, and expired on either March 22, 1979 or on June 30, 1982, depending on one's point of view of a controversial ratification deadline three-year extension by the 95th Congress in 1978. Of the 35 states ratifying it, five later rescinded their ratifications well prior to 1979. Opinions
differ now (and then) on whether such reversals are valid; no court has ruled on the question, including the Supreme Court.
- An amendment proposed by the 95th Congress on August 22, 1978 giving Washington, DC two Senators
and at least one Representative as though it were a state. Ratified by the legislatures of 16 states—less than half of the
required 38—it expired on August 22, 1985.
See also: List of unsuccessful attempts to amend the U.S.
Constitution
Proposed amendments
There are currently only a few proposed amendments which have entered mainstream political debate. These include the proposed
Federal Marriage Amendment, the Balanced Budget Amendment, and the flag-burning amendment. For more information see proposed amendments to the United States constitution.
International influence
The Constitution of The United States has served as a model for the constitutions of numerous other nations, including the
May Constitution of Poland which was written in
1791.
The course of the French Revolution was heavily influenced by
the United States Constitution.
References
- Blaustein, Albert P. "The United States Constitution: A Model in Nation-Building." National Forum 54 (1984):
14–17, 38.
- Burroughs, Wynell G., and Jean West Mueller. Using Documents to Teach the Constitution. ED 273 547.
- Hearst Report. The American Public's Knowledge of the U.S. Constitution: A National Survey of Public Awareness and
Personal Opinion. New York: The Hearst Corporation, 1987. ED 289 812.
- Kammen, Michael. A Machine that Would Go of Itself: The Constitution in American Culture. New York: Alfred A. Knopf,
1986.
External links
- National Archives:
- Official U.S. government sources:
- Non-government web sites:
- Activist/adovacy web sites:
- Thirty-Thousand.org (http://www.thirty-thousand.org/): Site advocating an increase in the size of the House of
Representatives.
- U.S.
Constitution.biz (http://www.usconstitution.biz): Web site of "Free Mart
Publications", offering conservative pamphlets on the Constitution
- The 21st
Century Constitution (http://www.krusch.com/books/21st.pdf) A proposal for
a revision of the Constitution updated "for the 21st century, with numerous political innovations".
- Krusch, Barry
(2003). Would The Real First Amendment Please Stand Up? (http://www.krusch.com/real/real2.html) Online book arguing that the Supreme Court's
interpretation of the First Amendment has created a “virtual First Amendment" that is radically different from the true
amendment.
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