The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It was written in 1787, ratified in 1788, and has been in operation since 1789. The Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation, which was the nations first constitution. The Constitution comprises seven articles that delineate the national frame and constraints of government. The first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress (Article I); the executive, consisting of the President (Article II); and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts (Article III) .
The Constitution is the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force in the world today. It is known as a “living” document because it can be amended, although in over 200 years there have only been 27 amendments. The Constitution established a Federal democratic republic, which is the system of the Federal Government; it is democratic because the people govern themselves, and it is a republic because the Government’s power is vested in the people.
The Constitution was drafted at the Constitutional Convention, which assembled at Independence Hall in Philadelphia between May 25 and September 17, 1787. Delegates to the convention were chosen by the state legislatures of 12 of the 13 original states; Rhode Island refused to send delegates. The chief aim of the Constitution as drafted by the Convention was to create a government with enough power to act on a national level but without so much power that fundamental rights would be at risk. One way that this was accomplished was to separate the power of government into three branches.
