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| American Constitution | |
|---|---|
| Name | Constitution of the United States |
| Caption | Signed document, 17 September 1787 |
| Created | 1787 |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Signers | George Washington; Benjamin Franklin; James Madison; Alexander Hamilton; Roger Sherman; Gouverneur Morris; James Wilson |
American Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the foundational charter that established the framework of republican rule in the United States. Drafted at the Philadelphia Convention and influenced by Enlightenment thinkers, the document created institutions and processes that have shaped United States political development, disputes such as the Nullification Crisis, and reforms like the Civil Rights Movement. It has been a central reference in landmark disputes involving figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr., and institutions including the Supreme Court of the United States and the United States Congress.
The Constitution emerged from debates at the Philadelphia Convention where delegates including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, and Roger Sherman reconciled interests among states like Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York. Its origins reflect influences from the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Iroquois Confederacy, and Enlightenment authors such as John Locke, Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The document superseded the Articles of Confederation after ratification campaigns in states like Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and North Carolina, and faced opposition from figures such as Patrick Henry and publishers like The Federalist Papers authors Publius (pseudonyms for Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay). Ratification culminated with actions by legislatures including the United States Senate and executives like George Washington.
The Constitution is divided into a preamble and seven articles that define bodies such as the United States Congress, the President of the United States, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Article I establishes legislative powers including oversight of the United States Treasury and rules for representation in bodies like the House of Representatives and the Senate. Article II defines executive authority vested in the President of the United States and mechanisms like the Electoral College. Article III creates the Judiciary of the United States and empowers courts including the Supreme Court of the United States and lower federal courts established by Congress of the United States. Subsequent articles address interstate relations, amendment procedures, federal obligations, and the supremacy of federal law relative to instruments like the Treaty of Paris and statutes such as the Judiciary Act of 1789.
Foundational principles include separation of powers among institutions like the United States Congress, the President of the United States, and the Supreme Court of the United States; checks and balances exemplified by contests between Andrew Jackson and the Supreme Court of the United States; popular sovereignty reflected in elections involving parties such as the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party; and rule of law seen in prosecutions handled by the Department of Justice (United States). Constitutional interpretation has evolved through methods advocated by scholars and jurists like Alexander Hamilton, John Marshall, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Earl Warren, and Antonin Scalia, leading to doctrines such as judicial review asserted in Marbury v. Madison and standards deployed in cases like Brown v. Board of Education.
The amendment process set in Article V allowed additions such as the Bill of Rights proposed by James Madison and ratified alongside responses to Anti-Federalist criticisms by leaders like Patrick Henry and newspapers including the Aurora (newspaper). The first ten amendments guarantee liberties protected in instruments like the English Bill of Rights and have been invoked in disputes involving the National Rifle Association, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and litigants in cases such as Gideon v. Wainwright and Miranda v. Arizona. Subsequent amendments, including the Thirteenth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, and Nineteenth Amendment, addressed slavery, citizenship, and suffrage and were shaped by movements led by figures like Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, and organizations such as the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
The document delineates powers between the federal government and states such as California, Texas, and New York and allocates responsibilities to federal agencies like the Department of State (United States) and state institutions including the New York State Legislature. Conflicts over federalism have arisen in controversies such as Worcester v. Georgia, disputes involving the Civil War and leaders like Abraham Lincoln, and twentieth-century clashes involving New Deal legislation championed by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Separation of powers has been tested by impeachment proceedings against presidents including Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton, and by legislative-executive disputes involving committees such as the House Committee on the Judiciary and agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency.
The Supreme Court resolved constitutional questions in landmark decisions such as Marbury v. Madison (judicial review), McCulloch v. Maryland (federal power), Dred Scott v. Sandford (citizenship and slavery), Brown v. Board of Education (segregation), Roe v. Wade (privacy and reproductive rights), United States v. Nixon (executive privilege), Bush v. Gore (election disputes), and Obergefell v. Hodges (marriage equality). Other influential cases include Gideon v. Wainwright, Miranda v. Arizona, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, Shelby County v. Holder, and Kelo v. City of New London, each shaping doctrine concerning rights, federalism, electoral law, and property.
The Constitution influenced constitutions in countries such as France, Japan, India, Germany, and South Africa and served as a reference for legal instruments like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and regional charters including the European Convention on Human Rights. Its legacy endures in academic institutions like Harvard University, Yale University, and Princeton University where scholars study constitutional law alongside practitioners from firms such as Covington & Burling and organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union. Debates over its meaning continue in public fora including media outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post and in civic movements like Black Lives Matter and Tea Party Movement.
Category:Constitutions