The law is the set of rules that we live by
The Constitution is the highest law. It belongs to the United States
It belongs to all Americans. The Constitution says how the government works
It creates the presidency. It creates the Congress. It creates the Supreme Court
The Constitution lists some few rights. Rights are things that all people have just because they are alive
By listing the rights, they are made special. They are made safe
The Bill of Rights is a part of the Constitution. The Bill of Rights lists many rights of the people. History
The Constitution was written in 1787. Yes, it is over 200 years old
We actually have old copies of what was created. In 1787, a group of men met to write the Constitution
They did not like the way the country was going. They fixed it by creating the Constitution
We call these men the Framers. Some of the Framers are very famous
George Washington was a Framer. So was Ben Franklin. The Framers met in Independence Hall during a hot summer in Philadelphia
They had a lot of arguments. In the end, they agreed to the words in the Constitution
They knew they had to agree. If they did not agree, the fighting would keep going
After the Framers wrote the Constitution, they asked the states to approve it
It took some time, but all the states did approve it. Some people did not like the Constitution
Some were afraid because it did not do enough to protect the rights of the people
It had no Bill, or list, of rights. Promises were made to add a Bill of Rights
After the Constitution passed, the Bill of Rights was added. The Bill of Rights is the first ten changes to the Constitution
The Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is very important. It protects important ideas
It protects your right to say what you want. It lets you think for yourself
It keeps the laws from being too hard. It gives rules for the police
It lets you believe in God if you want. No one can tell you not to believe
It lets you gather with your friends to talk. It makes sure you can read newspapers
The Bill of Rights also protects your home. It helps keep Americans safe
Today, we are very happy the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution
Making Changes. The Constitution is not perfect. When it was written, they knew that it would have to be improved
The Framers added a way to make changes. This is called Amendment
The Bill of Rights was actually added as a set of amendments
The Constitution has been changed 18 times since it was written. The amendments added things that the Framers didn't think of
One amendment says that all black men can vote. Another says that all women can vote
One more says that the President can only be elected twice. The first amendments, the Bill of Rights, were added in 1791
The last amendment was added in 1992. Lots of people have ideas for new amendments
Writing an amendment is hard. It takes lots of agreement. Maybe you have a good idea for a change to the Constitution
How it all works. The Constitution sets up the government. It is split into three parts
One part is the Congress. The Congress makes laws. The people elect the members of Congress
The next part is the President. The President enforces the laws. The last part is the courts
The courts decide what the law means when there are questions. All of the parts have to work together
Just like the Framers agreed on the Constitution, the parts have to agree on the laws
No part has too much power. The power is shared. This helps protect the people