ALL ABOUT USA CONSTITUTION

Introduction
The United States Constitution, which was written in 1787, ratified in 1788,
and has been in effect since 1789, is the world’s oldest surviving written
charter of governance. Its opening three words, “We the People,” assert that
the United States government exists to serve its people. Article I, which
establishes a Congress consisting of a Senate and a House of
Representatives, recognizes the people’s primacy via their chosen
representatives. The Constitution’s placement of Congress at the start
confirms its standing as the “First Branch” of the Federal Government.
Congress was given authority for creating the executive and judicial
departments, generating income, declaring war, and enacting any legislation
necessary to carry out these responsibilities, according to the Constitution.
The President has the power to veto individual legislative actions, but it is to
be noted that two-thirds majorities in both Houses of Congress can overrule
Presidential vetoes. The Senate is also required by the Constitution to advise
and agree on critical executive and judicial appointments, as well as treaty
ratification approval. This article helps the readers to understand the
American Constitution and its associated aspects.

The American Constitution: an insight

The American Constitution has been in effect for nearly two centuries
because its founders were successful in separating and balancing
governmental authorities in order to protect the interests of majority rule
along with minority rights, liberty, equality, and federal and state
governments. The Constitution has developed to suit the changing demands
of a contemporary society dramatically different from the eighteenth-century
world in which its architects lived. It is more of a brief declaration of national
ideas than a comprehensive framework of political function. It is known
as “the Law of the Land” because it forbids the government from violating
citizens’ fundamental rights and civil freedoms as guaranteed by federal law.
The Constitution has been revised 27 times till date, the most recent being
in 1992. The Bill of Rights is made up of the first 10 amendments.

The Articles of Confederation, which formed a “solid league of

affection” between the States and placed most authority in a Confederate
Congress, created the necessity for the Constitution. The Central
Government, on the other hand, had very limited power that included
conducting diplomacy and war, regulation of weights and measures, and was
the last judge of inter-state conflicts. Crucially, it was unable to raise any
fund on its own and was completely reliant on the States for all of its
financial needs. Each State sent a delegation to Congress consisting of two to
seven members, and they voted as a bloc, with each State receiving one
vote. However, each significant action needed a unanimous vote, resulting in
a government that was paralysed and ineffective. Invitations to a conference
in Philadelphia to examine revisions to the Articles were sent to state
legislatures in 1787, kicking off a campaign to amend the Articles. Delegates
from 12 of the 13 states (Rhode Island did not send anybody) met in
Philadelphia in May of that year to begin the process of reorganising
government. The participants to the Constitutional Convention quickly began
to work on crafting a new Constitution for the United States.

The Constitutional Convention

One of the main goals of the Constitution as created by the Convention was
to create a government with sufficient ability to act on a national level
without jeopardising basic rights. One approach to do this was to divide
government authority into three parts and then place checks and balances on
those powers to ensure that no one branch of government grew too
powerful. The delegates’ fear stemmed mostly from their interactions with
the King of England and his strong Parliament. The Constitution lists the
authorities of each branch, with powers not delegated to them reserved for
the states. Much of the debate, which was held in secret to ensure that all
delegates had an opportunity to speak their thoughts, centred on the
structure of the new legislature. The Virginia Plan, which allocated
representation based on each state’s population, and the New Jersey Plan,
which granted each state an equal vote in Congress, contended for the title
of new government. The larger states favoured the Virginia Plan, while the
smaller states preferred the New Jersey Plan.

They eventually agreed on the Great Compromise (also known as the

Connecticut Compromise), in which the House of Representatives would
represent the people as apportioned by population, the Senate would
represent the States equally apportioned, and the President would be elected
by the Electoral College. An independent judiciary was also part of the idea.
The founders worked hard to develop a bond amongst the states as well.
States must grant “full faith and credit” to the laws, records, contracts, and
judicial processes of other states, while Congress has the authority to
regulate how states share documents and define the extent of this phrase.
States are prohibited from discriminating against people of other states in
any form, and they are also prohibited from imposing tariffs on one another.
States must also extradite criminal suspects to other countries for trial.

The founders also established a procedure for amending the Constitution,

which has been followed 27 times since its ratification. The process for
making adjustments is fairly onerous in order to avoid arbitrary alterations.
An amendment can be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of
Congress, or by a convention called for that purpose if two-thirds of the
states seek it. The amendment must next be passed by three-fourth of state
legislatures or three-fourth of ratification conventions held in each state.
Amendments have historically stated a time range in which this must be
completed, which is usually a period of several years. Furthermore, the
Constitution stipulates that no amendment can deprive a state of equal
Senate representation without its assent. After deciding on the Constitution’s
contents and wording, the Convention began the process of putting the
document on paper. It was written in the hand of Gouverneur Morris, a
Pennsylvania delegate whose role gave him considerable control over the
punctuation of a few phrases in the Constitution.

Framers of the American Constitution

Except for Rhode Island, the founding states jointly appointed 70 people to
the Constitutional Convention. Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, Thomas
Jefferson, John Adams, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock were among those
who declined or were unable to attend. Only 39 of the 55 delegates who
attended the Constitutional Convention actually signed the document. The
delegates varied in age from Jonathan Dayton, 26, to Benjamin Franklin, 81,
who had to be brought to meetings in a sedan chair due to his infirmity.

Guiding principles of the American Constitution

To comprehend the American Constitution’s purpose and significance, it is
necessary to examine the concepts and causes that influenced its
development in the first place. Individual rights, federalism, law and order,
popular sovereignty, judiciary independence, the rule of law, and check and
balances, which are included with the separation of powers of the Federal
Government, are often referred to as the “guiding principles” in popular
literature or scholarly textbooks.

Preamble to the American Constitution

The Preamble to the American Constitution reads as “We the People of the
United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice,
insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defence, 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 American Constitution is introduced in the Preamble. Its magnificent

words are the first words people see when they read the Constitution, and
memorizing the Preamble is a standard practice among school children
across the country while learning about the nation’s founding document. The
reader is introduced to three key principles in the Preamble:

1. The source of the Constitution’s enactment authority (that is the

people of the United States),
2. The Constitution’s overarching goals, which are ordained and
established, and
3. The founders’ desire for the Constitution to be a long-lasting legal
document.
The Preamble was referred to as the key to the Constitution by James
Monroe, a delegate to the Virginia ratifying conference, and Alexander
Hamilton contended in The Federalist No. 84 that the Preamble obviates the
necessity for a bill of rights. Despite this, the Preamble received little
attention at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, having been added
to the document as an afterthought during the final drafting process.

Interpretation of the Preamble by the Supreme Court

of the United States
The Preamble was quoted by the Supreme Court of the United States in
numerous major court cases over the years after the Constitution’s
promulgation, although the Preamble’s legal weight was widely disclaimed.
The Preamble, as observed by Justice Joseph Story in his Commentaries, can
never be used to expand the powers vested in the general government or
any of its agencies. In Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905), the Supreme Court
backed Justice Story’s interpretation of the Preamble, ruling that while the
introductory paragraph of the Constitution indicates the general purposes for
which the people ordained and established the Constitution, it has never
been regarded by the Court as the source of any substantive power conferred
on the Federal Government.

The Supreme Court had reasoned in United States Term Limits, Inc. v.
Thornton (1995) that allowing states to construct their own criteria for
Congress would destroy the structure envisioned by the Framers of the
Constitution and therefore the same should not be allowed. The Court
highlighted that the Preamble’s aim to form a “more perfect Union” would
get disbalanced if states are allowed to frame their own qualifications for
Congress.

The Supreme Court ruled in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent

Redistricting Commission in 2015 that the state’s redistricting procedure,
which was established by a public initiative rather than a legislative act, was
legally lawful. The Court therefore held that ‘We the People’ is the source of
authority for the primary instrument of governance. In upholding a provision
criminalizing some types of material assistance to terrorist groups, the Court
used the Preamble’s wording asserting that the United States ordained and
formed that charter of government in part to ‘provide for the common
defence.’

Outside of court rulings, the Preamble appears to have had a greater effect
in remarks from the leaders of the political arms of government, often
factoring in numerous arguments over the nation’s early history. During
debates in the First Congress over the constitutionality of the Bank of the
United States, congressional leaders such as Massachusetts’ Elbridge
Gerry cited the Preamble to emphasise the Constitution’s broad purposes and
to justify the creation of a national bank to promote the general welfare. The
Preamble was also discussed in early legislative discussions about the new
government’s involvement in international affairs.

Preamble in recent times

In recent years, the political branches have continued to look to the
Preamble for guidance on broad constitutional principles rather than specific
legal concerns. Representative Scott Garrett of New Jersey defined the
Preamble to the Constitution as a condensed version of what the Founders
intended in the Constitution and for the country, in a 2007 address on the
House floor analyzing the current interpretation of the Preamble. In this line,
President Ronald Reagan defined the Constitution’s Preamble and its opening
words, “We the People,” as encapsulating America’s genius, optimism, and
promise for all time and for all mankind.

President Barack Obama described the Preamble as the vision of a true

United States of America, bound together by a recognition of the common
good, that guided the country through its darkest hour and helped it re-
emerge as a beacon of freedom and equality under law. As a result, while the
Preamble to the Constitution may carry little legal weight in a court of law
and may not be decisive in resolving specific legal disputes before the
political branches, it remains an important part of the national conversation
about the country’s founding document, inspiring and fostering deeper
understandings of the American system of government.

Articles of the American Constitution

There are seven articles to the American Constitution which are provided
hereunder:

1. Article I: Legislative Branch.

2. Article II: Executive Branch.
3. Article III: Judicial Branch.
 4. Article IV: Relationships Between the States.
5. Article V: Amending the Constitution.
6. Article VI: Prior Debts, National Supremacy, and Oaths of Office.
7. Article VII: Ratification.
The Federal Government’s structure is defined by the Constitution, which
includes laws and regulations that must be observed. This encompasses the
legislative, executive and the judiciary branch, as previously stated. It also
explains the individual and combined capabilities of each branch, minimizing
needless authority thereby establishing the doctrine of separation of power.
It further specifies that these branches are not to infringe on the rights of
individuals or states. This is accomplished via the use of legally enforceable
protocols that must be followed by all branches.

The Constitution establishes the Federal Government’s organization as well

as its functions and restrictions. Simply expressed, it establishes the rules by
which the Federal Government must operate. It is a manual for what a
government branch that holds offices inside those branches can perform.
These laws and sets of norms must be followed by the President as well. This
creates checks and balances, preventing one branch from overriding the
Constitution or abusing authority.

Civil liberties and individual rights offered by the

American Constitution
Freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, freedom of
petition, and freedom of access to the media are among the civil freedoms
guaranteed by the Constitution. This forbids the government from intruding
on or penalising these liberties in an unconstitutional manner. Another
significant justification for the separation of powers is that it allows citizens
to criticize and confront government behaviour without fear of reprisal from
any branch of government. Essentially, surviving a democratic country
necessitates this. One of the fundamental aims of a Constitution is to
promote democracy, which is prominently incorporated throughout the
document.

The right to a public trial for a criminal charge, the right to own weapons, the
right to dispute exorbitant bail or unusual punishment, and the right to
question arrests and property seizures without a warrant are all guaranteed
under the United States Constitution. Wrongful incarceration is one of the
topics covered by these principles. Individual rights exist to protect
individuals against government abuses of power and to ensure that all
citizens have access to basic freedoms.

Ratification
The ratification procedure outlined in the Constitution sparked a lot of
discussion in the states. The Constitution would go into force after nine of the
thirteen state legislatures had accepted it irrespective of unanimity. Two
factions arose during the discussion over the Constitution,

1. The Federalists, who favoured adoption, and

2. The Anti-Federalists, who opposed it.
In what came to be known as the Federalist Papers, James Madison,
Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay laid forth an impassioned justification of
the new Constitution. The 85 articles that make up the Federalist Papers
were published anonymously in the newspapers, the Independent
Journal and the New York Packet under the name Publius between October
1787 and August 1788, and they remain an invaluable resource for
understanding some of the framers’ intentions for the Constitution. The most
well-known Articles are No. 10, which warns against factions and argues for
a large republic, and No. 51, which outlines the Constitution’s structure,
checks and balances, and how it protects people’s rights.

The States then began the process of ratification, with some states debating
more passionately than others. On December 7, 1787, Delaware became the
first state to ratify the treaty. The Confederation Congress had set March 9,
1789 as the date to begin functioning under the Constitution after New
Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify on June 22, 1788. Except for
North Carolina and Rhode Island, all states had ratified by that time. The
Ocean State was the last to do so on May 29, 1790.

The Bill of Rights

1. The lack of an enumeration of essential civil rights in the
Constitution was a major issue of disagreement between the
Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. Many Federalists contended, as
in Federalist No. 84, that by accepting the Constitution, the people
gave up no rights. However, the establishment of a bill of rights was
a deciding factor in the ratification discussion in numerous states.
2. The Massachusetts Compromise was a compromise in which four
states ratified the Constitution while also sending proposals for
modifications to Congress. The Philadelphia convention scarcely
considered a bill of rights, with most participants believing that
individuals’ basic rights were protected by state constitutions.
3. A charter of rights, according to James Wilson, was unnecessary
since all authority not specifically granted to the new government
was reserved to the people. However, it was evident that the anti-
federalists had the upper hand in this debate. Even Thomas
Jefferson, who supported the new government in general, wrote to
Madison that a bill of rights was “what the people are entitled to
oppose every government on earth.”
 4. Madison, who was then a member of the United States House of
Representatives, changed the language of the Constitution where he
considered it was necessary. Several members of Congress, led by
Roger Sherman, opposed, claiming that Congress had no jurisdiction
to amend the Constitution’s text. As a result, Madison’s
amendments were presented as a list of Article VII amendments. 17
amendments were passed by the House. The Senate approved 12 of
them, and in August 1789, they were forwarded to the states for
ratification. There were ten modifications adopted (or ratified). On
December 15, 1791, the Virginia legislature became the last state
legislature to ratify the amendments, doing so on December 15,
1791.

Evolution of the Bill of Rights by means of amendments

1. Amendment I: No legislation shall be passed by Congress
respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free
practice, or abridging the freedom of speech or the press, or the
right of the people to peacefully assemble and petition the
government for redress of grievances.
2. Amendment II: The right of the people to keep and bear arms
shall not be infringed because a well-regulated militia is necessary
for the security of a free state.
3. Amendment III: In times of peace, no soldier should be quartered
in any house without the owner’s agreement, and in times of war,
only in a way allowed by law.
4. Amendment IV: The people’s right to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and
seizures shall not be violated, and no warrants shall be issued
unless there is probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation,
and specifically describing the location to be searched and the
persons or things to be seized.
5. Amendment V: No person shall be held to account for a capital, or
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a grand jury’s presentment or
indictment, except in cases arising in the land, naval, or militia
forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or
public danger; nor shall any person be subjected to being twice put
in jeopardy of life or limb for the same offence, nor shall any person
be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.
6. Amendment VI: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
have the right to a speedy and public trial before an impartial jury of
the state and district where the crime was committed, which district
shall have been determined by law, 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 favour, and to have the assistance of counsel for his
defence.
7. Amendment VII: The right to a jury trial must be retained in
common law proceedings where the value in question exceeds
twenty dollars, and no fact tried by a jury shall be re-examined in
any court of the United States other than pursuant to the norms of
the common law.
8. Amendment VIII: Excessive bail will not be necessary, nor will
excessive penalties or harsh punishments be administered.
9. Amendment IX: The inclusion of specific rights in the Constitution
should not be regarded as a denial or disparagement of other rights
held by the people.
10. Amendment X: The powers not assigned to the United States
by the Constitution, nor prohibited to the states by it, are reserved
to the states or the people, respectively.

Amendments to the American Constitution

In 1789, James Madison proposed 12 amendments to the First Congress. Ten
of them would eventually form the Bill of Rights, as we know it today. One
was never ratified, while the other, dealing with congressional pay, took until
1992 to become the 27th Amendment. The Bill of Rights, which was based
on the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the English Bill of Rights, Enlightenment
publications, and the rights described in the Magna Carta, contains rights
that many people today regard to be important to America.

Amendments to the United States Constitution can be made in two ways,

according to the Constitution. By a majority of two-thirds in each chamber,
the United States Congress can enact a bill outlining a proposed amendment.
Alternatively, a constitutional convention can be called by two-thirds of state
legislatures, which will propose one or more changes. The latter has never
happened before, and it’s unknown how such a convention would function. In
either scenario, the amendments to the United States Constitution are only
operative until they have been approved by three-fourth of the states. While
on one hand some changes are ratified fast, on the other, the 27th
Amendment which was introduced in 1792 but did not get final approval until
1992.

The Equal Rights Amendment was presented in 1972, and 34 of the required
38 states approved it. However, campaigners were unable to get the last four
states required for ratification, and the Congressionally mandated deadline
for ratification was missed. The first ten amendments were quickly enacted,
and the Bill of Rights was born. Following the Civil War, another set of
amendments was drafted, which was to protect the rights of liberated slaves.
There are presently 25 working amendments to the United States
Constitution. There have been 27 ratifications in all, with the 18th being
Prohibition and the 21st being the repeal of Prohibition.

Summarized version of the amendments

1. 1st Amendment (Ratified in 1791): Rights to Religion, Speech,
Press, Assembly, Petition
2. 2nd Amendment (Ratified in 1791): Right to Bear Arms
3. 3rd Amendment (Ratified in 1791): Quartering of Soldiers
4. 4th Amendment (Ratified in 1791): Search and Seizure
5. 5th Amendment (Ratified in 1791): Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy,
Self-Incrimination, Due Process
6. 6th Amendment (Ratified in 1791): Rights of Accused in Criminal
Prosecutions: Rights to Jury Trial, to Confront Opposing Witnesses
and to Counsel.
7. 7th Amendment (Ratified in 1791): Jury Trial
8. 8th Amendment (Ratified in 1791): Protections against Excessive
Bail, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
9. 9th Amendment ( Ratified in 1791): Non-Enumerated Rights
10. 10th Amendment (Ratified in 1791): Rights Reserved to States.
11. 11th Amendment (Ratified in 1795): Suits Against a State.
12. 12th Amendment (Ratified in 1804): Election of President and
Vice-President
13. 13th Amendment (Ratified in 1865): Abolition of Slavery and
Involuntary Servitude.
14. 14th Amendment (Ratified in 1868): Defines citizenship, bans
governments from interfering with privileges and immunities,
mandates due process and equal protection, punishes states for
refusing the right to vote, and disqualifies Confederate officials and
debts.
15. 15th Amendment (Ratified in 1870): Voting Rights.
16. 16th Amendment (Ratified in 1913): Federal Income Tax.
17. 17th Amendment (Ratified in 1913): Popular Election of
Senators.
18. 18th Amendment (Ratified in 1919): Prohibition
19. 19th Amendment (Ratified in 1920): Women’s Right to Vote
20. 20th Amendment (Ratified in 1933): Commencement of
Presidential Term and Succession.
 21. 21st Amendment (Ratified in 1933): Repeal of 18th Amendment
(Prohibition).
22. 22nd Amendment (Ratified in 1951): Two-Term Limitation on
President.
23. 23rd Amendment (Ratified in 1961): District of Columbia
Presidential Vote.
24. 24th Amendment (Ratified in 1964): Abolition of Poll Tax
Requirement in Federal Elections.
25. 25th Amendment (Ratified in 1967): Presidential Vacancy,
Disability and Inability.
26. 26th Amendment (Ratified in 1971): Right to Vote at Age 18.
27. 27th Amendment (Ratified in 1992): Congressional
Compensation

Conclusion
The basic function and purpose of the Constitution, which should go without
saying, is to serve and protect the people of the United States. However, it
contains a great deal more. It safeguards individuals from unjustified
persecution, assists in the prevention of government tyranny by maintaining
checks and balances within the federal government, and explicitly states the
laws that govern the government. Individual and state rights are protected
by the Constitution, which limits the federal government’s engagement to the
bare minimum. Furthermore, the United States Constitution establishes
citizens’ expectations as well as citizenship criteria. Thus what can be
inferred from the above discussion is that the American Constitution is
indeed one such Constitution to look up to and seek inspiration from.