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When you are done with this section, take the Constitution Quiz.
The Constitution is a plan for government. When it was written, the delegates to the Constitutional convention gave their reasons for the Constitution in its preamble or opening paragraph that tells who it is from and what reason it has been written.
The delegates at the Constitutional Convention had to make compromises on what should be in the Constitution. For example, the fact that we have two parts to Congress is a compromise these delegates made. Another compromise they made is how long the president should be in office. They also decided that we should have a federal government in which the states would have some powers as well as the national government. All delegates agreed that we wanted freedom for all people and for people to get along.
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention divided the government into three branches or parts and that this power would be balanced through a system of checks and balances.
After the Constitution was written and approved by the thirteen original states, the first government was formed with the George Washington as its president and the first Congress meeting on March 4, 1789. One job they had was to write additions to the Constitution called amendments. The first ten amendments are entitled the Bill of Rights as it defines the rights of all citizens. There are now the preamble, 7 articles, 26 amendments to the Constitution, the last added in 1971.
The original Constitution and Bill of Rights is in the National Archives in Washington, DC.
Go to the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights to study our Constitution in-depth.