The basics. The constitution is the highest law in the United States
All other laws come from the constitution. It says how the government works
It creates the presidency, it creates the Congress, it creates the Supreme Court
Each state also has a constitution. The constitutions of the states are their highest law for that state
But the United States constitution is higher. The constitution can be changed
The constitution is changed by an amendment. Among the amendments is a list of the rights of the people
By listing these rights. They are made special. It is illegal for the government to violate those rights
As Of 2006, there are 27 amendments. Not all of them involved rights
but many do. The 1st 10 amendments are special. They are called the bill of rights history
The constitution was written in 1787. Yes, it is over 200 years old
We actually have old copies of what was created. The master copies are stored at the National Archives in Washington
D. C. We also have pictures of the constitution on this site from May to September 1787
A group of men known as the framers met. The framers talked about what should be in the constitution
The United States was a brand new country. The United States had a government that did not work very well
Framers met to find a new way of running the country. This meeting is called the convention
Some of the framers are famous to us today. They include James
Madison, Ben Franklin and George Washington at that time. There were only 13 states
The men came from all the states except Rhode Island. Each state had ideas for the new government
The framers had many debates. They talked a lot, they make a lot of speeches by talking about it
They came up with a plan that everyone could agree with. They had to have a lot of compromises only by agreeing could all the
arguments be worked out. Ben franklin said that he was not sure if the plan was perfect
He said that it was probably as perfect as it could be. After the convention
the constitution had to be approved actual. Only nine states had to agree to or ratified the constitution
but everyone wanted all 13 states to agree to states took a long time to decide to agree
These states were Rhode Island and North Carolina. In the end, they did agree once the first nine states agreed
we say the constitution was ratified. New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify amendments
When the
was written, the framers knew their creation was not perfect. They knew that other people would have good ideas for the constitution
They wanted to be sure that it wasn't too hard to make changes
They also wanted to be sure that it wasn't too easy. The framers added an amendment process
An amendment to the constitution is a change that connect to the constitution or change an older part of it
Originally, some people did not want to ratify the
one big reason was that it did not have a bill of rights. A bill of rights is a list of rights that belong to
the people. The government is not allowed to break these rights. Some of these rights might sound familiar
The right of free speech, the right to practice your own religion
the right to be silent if you are arrested. The original constitution had no bill of rights
Many of the framers did not think it was needed, but many people wanted one
So promises were made to add one using the amendment process. Soon the new government started meeting
Congress proposed the bill of rights. A list of 12 changes was sent to the states in 1791
10 of those change were agreed to by the states. The 10 changes were added to the constitution
These 10 changes are called the bill of rights. Other changes to the constitution are discussed below
The last change to the constitution was made in 1992. The 27th amendment is actually one of the two leftover amendments from
1791. It is very unusual for an amendment to take that long to be accepted
but it is possible some like the 26th amendment are accepted very quickly in just 100 days
Most though, take a little over a year to be ratified slavery in 1787
most of the black people in America were slaves as slave is someone who is owned by someone else
Today there are no legal slaves in America. It was common in 17 87
As time went by, more people thought that slavery was wrong. Most of the people who wanted to end slavery were from the states in
the north. They were called abolitionists. Most of the people who wanted to keep slavery
We're from the states in the south. Slavery was important in the south
A lot of how the people in the south made money involved slaves
Slaves were worth money. Slaves picked their crops like cotton and tobacco
The people in the north wanted to end slavery. They said it was an important step for America
The people of the south were afraid of losing slavery. They were afraid of losing business
They thought that having slavery was important for each state choose on its own
When President Lincoln was elected, the south got very angry Lincoln had said he didn't like slavery
Most of the southern states decided to break away from the United States
They created their own country. It was called the confederate states of America
The USa did not agree that the states of the USA could break away
The civil war followed. The USA won that war. It was a terrible war
Many people died. Many buildings were destroyed, something good did happen though
slavery ended With the 13th amendment, slavery was made illegal. The 14th Amendment said that every person born in the United States
was a full citizen. Even former slaves were full citizens. The 15th amendment made sure that black people could vote
These changes protected many freedoms, but it took a long time to change people's minds
Many people still did not like black people. They thought that white people were better for 100 years
Summer laws reflected this feeling today. These laws are also gone. Most people do not think that anyone is better than someone else
just because of their color. Women at the beginning, we talked about the men who were the framers for a long time
Most of the people who shaped the country were men. This is not because women could not help
It is not because women did not want to help. Instead, men held all the positions of power
Men were the president's men were the members of Congress. Men were the mayor's men were the owners of companies
Women had very little chance to advance in life today. Many women like taking care of the home today though
this is a choice before this was the only option for a woman
Women had no role in government. They had no role in politics
They were homemakers. They took care of their husbands or far Others
They took care of kids. Most men did not feel that women should vote
There were actually laws that said women could not vote. Many people decided this was wrong and many women and some men fought against it
Finally, in 1920, the 19th Amendment was passed, it says that women can vote in all elections today
Women are active in government and politics. Being able to vote is a big part of that
Without the ability to vote. Women had no voice without a voice
There was no reason for politicians to care what women think. They did not care about issues that are important to women
Once women could vote, some got very interested in politics, some women ran for office
There have not yet been any women as president. However, it is only a matter of time before the first woman president is elected
The Bill of Rights. We already talk about the Bill of Rights
It was passed because some people were afraid that the government would have too much power
They were afraid that some important things could be made illegal. They wanted to be sure to keep those things legal
For example, you can say whatever you want about the President, you can say that you don't like his hair
you can say you don't like his voice, You can say you don't like the war in Iraq
You can say you don't like his tax ideas. It's seems normal to us to be able to say these things
We can criticize the President, we can criticize a member of Congress
we can criticize the mayor, we can say what things they do that we don't like this is only possible because of the rights of
free speech. The Bill of Rights protects free speech. Imagine if there was no right to free speech
a law could be passed. That says that if you criticize the President's hair
you can spend a day in jail or worse criticizing the President's taxes can get you a year in jail
These are the kinds of laws that the framers were afraid of. The Bill of Rights protects us from such laws
We cannot be put in jail because of our opinions. The Bill of Rights protects a lot of other freedoms
For example, you can believe in any religion you want. The government cannot force you to believe in something
You cannot be forced to house soldiers in your home. The police cannot come into your home without a good reason
The police may not take your papers without reason. The police cannot force you testify against yourself in court
In fact, the police cannot force you to tell them anything at all
This is called the right to remain silent and you cannot be given unusual punishments
You cannot be given 20 years in jail for speeding, how it all works
The constitution sets up the government. It is split into three branches
The first is the legislative. The second is the executive. The third is the judiciary
Each one has its own role in how the law is made and used the legislature makes the law
the legislature is called the Congress. It is split into two parts
The first is the House of Representatives. The second is the Senate
Each representative comes from a district in one of the states. That person's job is to represent the people in that district
The people elect the representative, they have the right to tell him or her how they feel about issues
There are 435 representatives. Biggest states have more representatives. Every state has at least one
The Senate is made up of 100 senators. There are two senators from each state
The people elect senators, Senators should represent the interests of all of the people
When the Congress wants to pass a law, both the House and the Senate must agree to the exact same law
If they cannot agree, then the law cannot pass the role of the executive is mainly to make sure the law is carried out
The president heads the executive. The executive also includes the vice president
The secretaries of all the departments are also in the executive. One department is the Department of Homeland Security
another is the Department of Education and one more is the Department of Defense
Before a law becomes the law, the president must agree to it
If he does not agree he rejects or vetoes the law. When he vetoes a law
he sends it back to the Congress. Congress can then try to pass the law again
The president can also refuse to sign a law. If he does
it will become a law anyway. The government has lots of checks and balances
This is one example of the checks and balances. The Congress must pass laws
The President will agree to. The President is accountable for his decisions regarding laws
The last branches the judiciary. This includes all the federal courts, all the way up to the Supreme Court
States have their own court systems to the state courts are under the national courts
The role of the judiciary is to the law. The law might say it is illegal to break into someone's home
If someone is caught breaking into a home, the courts will ask several questions first
Can the government make this illegal? If it cannot, the law is called unconstitutional
Such laws are invalid. Next, the court will ask if the person is actually guilty
Usually a jury will find someone guilty or not guilty. Sometimes just a judge decides this
A trial by jury is right. It means that other people from your area will decide if you broke the law
Sometimes juries and courts make mistakes. If someone is found guilty, they can appeal
There is a set of special courts set up for appeals. The last court of appeal is the Supreme Court
Whatever the Supreme Court says, it's the end, there is no appeals court higher than the Supreme Court