The us constitution
- 1. The US constitution For Dummies What is the constitution? The US constitution was written at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and subsequently ratified by the original thirteen states. It is the highest law in the USA. All other laws come from the constitution and it says how Government works. Each state also has a constitution but the US constitution is higher. Did you know? The constitution can be change by an amendment. Among them is a list of the people’s rights. It is illegal for the Government to violate those rights and by 2006 there have only been 27 amendments and not all involve rights but a lot do. The last change to the constitution was made in1992. The Bill of Rights The first ten amendments make up the Bill of rights. It was ratified in 1791. Did you know? An example of what the constitution can do: The constitution brought the ultimate end to slavery. In 1787 most of the black people in America were slaves. Most of those against slavery lived in North America and they were called abolitionists- the South however, had different ideas. Slavery in the South was how the people made their money. When President Lincoln was elected he said he didn’t like slavery and many of the Southern states disapproved. They then began to break away from the USA and then the Civil War came about. Fortunately, the 13th Amendment made slavery illegal and the 14th Amendment said every one born in the USA was a citizen. The 15th Amendment made sure black people could vote. At first only nine of the thirteen states had to agree to the constitution. However everyone wanted all thirteen states to agree. Once the first nine states agreed the constitution was ratified. How it all works The constitution is set up into three branches- Legislative, Executive and Judiciary. Each plays a role in how the law is made and used. The Legislature is Congress- it is split in two, the House of Representatives and Senate. There are collectively 435 Representatives- each comes from a district in one of the states. When the Congress wants to pass a law, the House and Senate must both agree.