The U.S. Constitution 1787 – We the People
The U.S. Constitution 1787
The United States Constitution, which was written in 1787, passed 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,” declare that the United States government exists to serve its citizens.
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 establishing the executive and judicial departments, generating money, declaring war, and enacting any legislation necessary to carry out these duties, according to the Constitution.
The president has the power to veto particular legislative actions, but 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 crucial executive and judicial appointments, as well as treaty ratification approval.
The Constitution has been in effect for almost two centuries because its authors were successful in separating and balancing governmental authorities in order to protect the interests of majority rule and minority rights, liberty and equality, and federal and state governments. The Constitution has developed to suit the changing demands of a contemporary society radically different from the eighteenth-century world in which its founders lived. It is more a brief declaration of national ideals than a comprehensive framework of political administration. The Constitution has been modified 27 times to date, the most recent being in 1992. The Bill of Rights is made up of the first 10 amendments.
SEE ALSO:
The Bill of Rights (1791);
The Power of Judicial Review (1803).
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