Constitution of the United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from United States Constitution)
Jump to navigationJump to search
Constitution of the United States
Constitution of the United States, page 1.jpg
Page one of the officially engrossed copy of the Constitution signed by delegates.
A print run of 500 copies of the final version preceded this copy.[1]
Overview
Jurisdiction United States of America
Created September 17, 1787
Presented September 28, 1787
Ratified June 21, 1788
Date effective March 4, 1789[2]
System Constitutional presidential federal republic
Government structure
Branches 3
Chambers Bicameral
Executive President
Judiciary Supreme, Circuits, Districts
Federalism Federation
Electoral college Yes
Entrenchments 2, 1 still active
History
First legislature March 4, 1789
First executive April 30, 1789
First court February 2, 1790
Amendments 27
Last amended May 5, 1992
Citation The Constitution of the United States of America, As Amended (PDF),
July 25, 2007
Location National Archives Building
Commissioned by Congress of the Confederation
Author(s) Philadelphia Convention
Signatories 39 of the 55 delegates
Media type Parchment
Supersedes Articles of Confederation
This article is part of a series on the
Politics of the
United States
Greater coat of arms of the United States.svg
Federal government
Legislature
Executive
Judiciary
Elections
Political parties
Political ideologies
Federalism
Foreign relations
flag United States portalicon Politics portal
vte
Constitutional law
of the United States
Scale of justice 2.svg
Overview
ArticlesAmendments
HistoryJudicial review
Principles
Separation of powersIndividual rightsRule of lawFederalismRepublicanismEqual
footing
Government structure
Legislative branchExecutive branch
Judicial branchState governmentLocal government
Individual rights
Freedom of religionFreedom of speechFreedom of the pressFreedom of assemblyRight to
petitionFreedom of associationRight to keep and bear armsRight to trial by
juryCriminal procedural rightsRight to privacyFreedom from slaveryDue processEqual
protectionCitizenshipVoting rightsComprehensible rules
Theory
Living ConstitutionOriginalismPolitical process theoryPurposivismTextualismStrict
constructionismCommon good constitutionalism
vte
This article is part of a series on the
Constitution
of the United States
Greater coat of arms of the United States.svg
Preamble and Articles
Preamble
IIIIIIIVVVIVII
Amendments to the Constitution
IIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIIIIXX
XIXIIXIIIXIVXVXVIXVII
XVIIIXIXXXXXIXXII
XXIIIXXIVXXVXXVIXXVII
Unratified Amendments:
Congressional Apportionment
Titles of NobilityCorwinChild Labor
Equal RightsD.C. Voting Rights
History
Drafting and ratification timeline
ConventionSigning
FederalismRepublicanism
Bill of RightsReconstruction Amendments
Full text
Preamble and Articles I–VII
Amendments I–X
Amendments XI–XXVII
Unratified Amendments
flag United States portalicon Law portalicon Politics portal
vte
This article is part of a series on the
American Revolution
Union Jack Grand Union Flag Betsy Ross flag
Declaration of Independence (painting)
The Committee of Five presents the draft of the Declaration of Independence to the
Second Continental Congress
TimelineMilitary leadersBattles
Origins
American Revolutionary War
Declaration of Independence
United States Constitution
A New Republic
Legacy
flag United States portal
vte
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of
America.[3] It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first
constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the
national frame of government. Its first three articles embody the doctrine of the
separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three
branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress (Article I); the
executive, consisting of the president and subordinate officers (Article II); and
the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts (Article
III). Article IV, Article V, and Article VI embody concepts of federalism,
describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments, the states in
relationship to the federal government, and the shared process of constitutional
amendment. Article VII establishes the procedure subsequently used by the 13 States
to ratify it. It is regarded as the oldest written and codified national
constitution in force.[4][a]

Since the Constitution came into force in 1789, it has been amended 27 times,
including one amendment that repealed a previous one,[5] in order to meet the needs
of a nation that has profoundly changed since the 18th century.[6] In general, the
first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, offer specific
protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers
of government.[7][8] The majority of the 17 later amendments expand individual
civil rights protections. Others address issues related to federal authority or
modify government processes and procedures. Amendments to the United States
Constitution, unlike ones made to many constitutions worldwide, are appended to the
document. The original U.S. Constitution[9] was written on five pages of parchment.
[10]