The Constitutional Convention 0f 1787

 

            The Articles of Confederation government reluctantly agreed to Hamilton’s proposal to meet in Philadelphia in 1787.  They carefully stated the meeting was to only revise the articles of Confederation government, not to replace it.  In truth, no one would have attended if they new the purpose was to rewrite a new government.  Even with all the Articles of Confederation’s problems, people still feared a strong central government would take away their rights as England had done. 

            At first, many states were uncertain whether or not to send delegates to the Philadelphia Convention.  Many decided to go ahead, however, when they learned George Washington would be attending the convention.  Everyone trusted Washington.  He was a hero of the American Revolution.  Surely, Washington would not allow anything bad to happen.

            So, twelve of the thirteen states sent delegates to Philadelphia to meet at the Philadelphia State House, to attend the convention.  Philadelphia State House is now called Independence Hall because it was there that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation had been adopted, forming our first national government and now in 1787, they would write a new constitution, the Constitution of the United States of America.

            The delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, that wrote the Constitution, were some of the best and brightest that America could offer.  All of the 55 men that made up the delegates had experience in government and writing laws.  Several had been in the Stamp Act Congress, or had been signers of the Declaration of Independence or Articles of Confederation.  Most of the delegates had served in either the First or Second Continental Congress.  The majority were Revolutionary War veterans.  Two of the delegates would become future presidents of the United States, and one a vice-president.  Many were, or would become state governors, congressmen, and senators.  Several were judges, and the majority of the delegates were already lawyers well versed in the law and writing laws.  All were intelligent and dedicated to making sure America prospered under a fair, and just government.

            One of the most important men at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 that wrote the Constitution was James Madison.  James Madison had spent a year studying governments.  He had ordered and borrowed hundreds of books on ancient and modern governments.  He studies these books trying to discover what other governments had done right or wrong, and what parts of these governments would work best for America.  After analyzing these books on government, Madison outlined their keys to success in a forty-one page booklet.  Finally, Madison organized these ideas into a 15-point plan for government.  This 15-point plan for government became to be a blueprint for the constitution of the United States of America.  Because of this, Madison is known as the Father of the Constitution.

            Not everyone was excited about the Philadelphia Convention of 1787.  Patrick Henry refused to attend.  Patrick Henry said he “smelled a rat in Philadelphia tending towards monarchy.”  Patrick Henry feared that the convention would replace the Articles of Confederation with a strong, central government, one that would take away the people’s rights as England had done.  In the end, Henry was only half right.  The Convention would create a new, strong, central government, but it would be a government that would exist to protect the people’s rights, not take them away.

            Though many feared strong, central government as Patrick Henry did, fifty-five delegates did attend the Constitutional Convention of 1787.  The delegates worked for four months in six hour meetings a day, six days a week for four months.  On the first day, George Washington was selected to be the president of the convention.  Washington made sure delegates kept working, and that though the debates became heated, disturbances would not stop the important work being done.

            Again, we owe Madison a great debt of thanks.  Not only did he provide the blueprint for the Constitution with his 15-point plan for government, but he also recorded the whole proceedings.  Madison sat up front, and wrote down every word said during the four months.  His notes were later published as a book, recording forever the creation of our national government.

            For the convention to be orderly there needed to be rules.  Washington had the delegates agree to several rules of procedure so the convention would be able to work.  The first rule was secrecy.  The nation still feared strong, central government, and the delegates needed to be able to propose ideas freely.  If word got out about their plans, an angry mob could interrupt the convention and destroy America’s hopes for a government that would work.  So, the delegates swore oaths of secrecy.  Delegates were not allowed to discuss their work with anyone until the Constitution was finished.  The second rule was flexibility.  No votes were final until the final day of the convention.  This allowed delegates to change their minds and go back to points already voted on and work out any problems that might exist.  In all 569 votes were taken.  The last rule was courtesy.  Every member that wished to speak had to rise and address Washington, who sat in front of the delegates, and be allowed to speak.  While any delegate spoke, no one could talk, take notes, or do anything but pay attention.  This ensured everyone heard all the ideas.  Though the debates were often heated, the rules made sure that the convention was orderly and that all ideas were heard.

          

The Virginia Plan

 

            The first plan heard was the Virginia Plan.  Virginia Governor Edmund Randolph presented Madison’s 15-point plan for government.  Since Randolph was from Virginia, Madison’s 15-point plan became known as the Virginia Plan.  The Virginia Plan called for the nation to have three branches of government, an executive branch (led by a president), a legislative branch of congressmen in which the state’s population determined the number of congressmen per state, and a judicial branch of judges and courts.  This form of government was familiar to the states.  The states already had three branches of governments like the Virginia Plan proposed.  Madison thought the plan would be adopted smoothly.

            However, the Virginia Plan caused trouble to break out.  Most delegates liked that the Virginia Plan called for a government that could tax the citizens and control trade between states, problems of the Articles of Confederation government that needed fixing.  But, many delegates feared a government with an executive branch.  A president sounded too much like a king.

            Other delegates from small states disliked the Virginia Plan’s portioning of congressmen per state based on the state’s population.  This meant that big states like Virginia with more population would have more congressmen, and therefore more votes in the legislature.  The small states feared that the big states would do as they pleased, leaving the small states powerless under the Virginia Plan.

          

The New Jersey Plan

 

            To combat this, the small states came up with their own plan.  William Patterson of New Jersey proposed his own plan.  His plan, called the New Jersey Plan, called for the government to not rewrite a new government, but merely strengthen the Articles of Confederation government’s powers, and to create a legislature where each state only had one congressman, regardless of the state’s population.  That way, each state had an equal vote in the legislature.

 

The Great Compromise

 

            A vote was taken and the Virginia Plan won.  But the small states were not happy.  They did not want to lose power to the large states.  Benjamin Franklin urged the delegates from large and small states to compromise.  And Roger Sherman of Connecticut proposed the compromise that would become known as the Great Compromise.  The Great Compromise offered that the delegates combine the Virginia and New Jersey Plans.  The Great Compromise adopted the idea of three branches of government; an executive branch, and judicial branch, and bicameral (two house) legislature.  The legislature would be divided into two.  The lower house, the House of Representatives, would allow the number of congressmen per state to be decided by the state’s population.  The more population a state had, the more representatives it got.  But, to make things fair for the small states, the upper house, the Senate, would be equal.  Each state would have two senators per state, regardless of the states size or population.

            The Great Compromise settled the debate.  The nation would have three branches of government.  The Executive Branch with a president would enforce laws.  The Legislative Branch would write new laws.  And finally, the Judicial branch would interpret laws.

            However, the Great Compromise caused another problem.  How would the nation count it slaves?  The South wanted to count the slaves towards population to give them more representatives to the House of Representatives, but did not want to count the slaves towards taxation, because the slaves were not citizens of the Untied States, but property.  The North disagreed.  The North wanted to count the slaves towards taxation because the slaves made the south a lot of money growing cash crops on plantations.  However, the North did not want to count the slaves towards population because the slaves were not citizens.  The northern states told the south that if they wanted to count the slaves towards population to get more congressmen, they could free the slaves and make them citizens!

            This disagreement led to two compromises at the Constitutional Convention of 1787.  The first compromise was the Three-fifths Compromise.  In the Three-Fifths Compromise, the north and south agreed to count slaves as only three-fifths of a person towards population and taxation.  The second was the Slave Trade Compromise.  The south wanted to protect slavery as slavery and plantation economies was the way they made money.  The northern states wanted to eliminate slavery, as many of the northern delegates saw slavery as morally wrong.  In the Slave Trade Compromise, the delegates agreed that twenty years after the states had ratifies, or adopted, the Constitution, importation of slaves into the country would be abolished.  The northern delegates believed that this would mean slavery would eventually become extinct as slaves grew old and died, and not more were allowed in the nation.  The south believed they had protected their way of life and their economy and were satisfied as well.  Though the compromises over slavery did not make either the northern or southern states happy, it was the only way that the north could get the south to agree to the Constitution, without which, the nation would surely be destroyed.

            Many other debates and compromises had to be made over the four months of the Constitutional Convention of 1787.  Issues over who elected legislators, who elected the president, should people have to be of a certain religion to hold office, and other ideas about government kept the delegates arguing and compromising for four months.  But, by late July, the delegates had finished most of the debates.

            The delegates to a ten day break in July to allow the Committee of Detail to write down all that they had decided.  The Committee of Detail consulted important documents on government to decide how to write the Constitution.  The Committee of Detail consulted the Magna Carta, colonial charters, the Albany Plan of Union, various state constitutions, the Articles of Confederation, and the Native American document, the Iroquois Great Law of Peace that had unified the Iroquois tribes under a federal government for over two hundred years.  The Committee of Detail then wrote a first draft of the Constitution into twenty-three long and rambling articles.

            When the delegates returned, they spent five weeks editing and revising the Committee of Details first draft of the Constitution.  They debated the confusing language that the Committee of Detail had written the handed it over to a new committee, the Committee of Style.  The Committee of Style wrote the final draft of the Constitution of the United States.  The Committee of Style rewrote the Constitution into simpler language, understandable by all Americans.  It eliminated confusing words and things that had been repeated.  In the end, the Committee of Style reduced the Constitution into seven clear and understandable articles that were clear, short, and well-written.

            Into September, the delegates continued to edit and rewrite the Constitution, debating and voting on problems till they believed they had fixed all they could think of that might be a problem.  Finally, it was done.  George Mason thought there was still one more problem.  The Constitution did not have a Bill of Rights that listed what the rights of the people actually were.  However, other delegates, tired and missing their homes rejected Mason’s call to include a Bill of Rights.  They believed that since all the states already had Bill of Rights in their state constitutions, none was needed for the nation’s constitution.  This was almost a fatal mistake.  For without a national Bill of Rights, the Constitution would not be adopted by the states.

            On September 17^th, 1787, the delegates met for the last vote.  The question was would it pass?  If not all this work had been for nothing.  Benjamin Franklin rose to speak.  Franklin was an old man by this time.  Unable to rise and speak for long periods, he gave his friend James Wilson a letter he had written to read to the delegates.  In his letter, Franklin urged the delegates to vote for the Constitution.  Franklin agreed that the Constitution was not perfect, but he also admitted that the things he did not like, might be right after all.  Franklin told the delegates that it was amazing that all these delegates, from different parts of the country, with different ideas about  the government, had come up with something as good as they had.  And, Franklin questioned the delegates, could any group ever assembled ever do any better?  So, Franklin begged of the delegates, put aside their quarrels, and selfish ideas, and sign the Constitution of the United States.

            Now was the time.  George Washington called for a vote to be taken to sign the Constitution.  Every state had one vote.  All the states represented voted to sign the Constitution.  Of the 42 delegates in attendance that day, only 39 signed the Constitution.  Three delegates refused to sign.  George Mason refused to sign because the Constitution did not contain a Bill of Rights that listed the rights of Americans.  Randolph and Gerry refused to sign because they believed that the states would not ratify the Constitution as it was written and it would lead to confusion, anarchy, or civil war.   Still, with all states voting unanimously, the Constitution was signed, and sent to the Articles of Confederation government to be printed and distributed to the states for ratification.  Perhaps the Constitutional Convention of 1787 can best be summed up by the president of the convention, and the man who would be its first president, George Washington.

 

                        It appears to me, then, little short of a miracle, that the delegates from so    many different states, (different) in their manners, circumstances, and prejudices,   should unite in forming a system of national government, so little liable to well    founded objections.”

                                                -George Washington

Ratification of the Constitution

 

            Now that the Constitution was written, the nation had to get the country to agree to it.  The last Article of the Constitution, Article VII, instructed what must take place to ratify, or approve, the Constitution as our nation’s new government.  At least nine of the thirteen states had to agree to adopt the Constitution, or it would not be our new government.   The battle to ratify the Constitution was taken directly to the people, only they could adopt, or refuse the new government.

            The Articles of Confederation Congress copies the Constitution and sent it to all of the thirteen states.  Each state held conventions and allowed the people to vote on whether to adopt the Constitution, or reject it.  During the months that followed, opponents to the Constitution, called Anti-Federalists because the opposed a federal government, tried to convince the people to reject the Constitution.  The Anti-Federalists wrote letters that were published in newspapers warning the people how their rights might be taken away by a new federal government.  The Anti-Federalists reminded the people that this had just happened to them by England, and they had had to fight a long and costly war to regain their rights.  Did they now want to give up their rights so hard fought for?

            Others that supported the Constitution, called Federalists because the supported a strong federal government, retaliated.  The Federalists wrote articles in newspapers as well.  The Federalists explained how the new government would be made up, and how it was designed to fix the problems of the Articles of Confederation, and would protect their rights.  The Federalist argued every point raised by the Anti-Federalists, explaining the Constitution and its protections to the people.  The Federalist’s explanations of the Constitution to the people are called the Federalist Papers.

            The arguments of the Federalists in the Federalist Papers worked.  State conventions began ratifying, or adopting the Constitution.  However, several important states were not convinced.  Virginia and New York were the nation’s largest and wealthiest states and were full of Anti-Federalists who feared a loss of their rights if the Constitution was adopted.  James Madison told the states of Virginia and New York that if they ratified the Constitution, he would write a Bill of Rights that guaranteed their rights under the new government, and that the new government would add this Bill of Rights as soon as it got down to business.  With this assurance, Virginia and New York ratified the Constitution.  The rest of the states soon followed.  In 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, which meant the Constitution was the new national government.  But, to be truly successful, the nation wished all states to ratify the Constitution.  By 1790, Rhode Island, the smallest state, and most protective of its state’s rights, ratified the Constitution.  With Rhode Island’s ratification, all thirteen states had adopted the Constitution, and it became our new national government, approved and ratified by all thirteen states!

 

The Constitution of the United States

 

            The Constitution of the United States of America constructed a new system of government for the United States.  The delegates to the Constitutional Convention, or as they are sometimes called, our Founding Fathers, or Framers of the Constitution, incorporated seven principles of government that guide the way our government works.  These seven principles are popular sovereignty, republicanism, federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, limited government, and individual rights.

            Popular Sovereignty describes who is in charge in American government.  Popular Sovereignty means that the people have the power in our government.   The people exercise this power by voting.  People vote on issues, they vote for candidates, and the vote to choose what America will do and become.

            Republicanism is how the peoples’ power is represented in government.  Republicanism means that people elect political officials, such as presidents, senators, and governors, which govern for the people.  People elect presidents and other political officials based on what the officials promise to do once in office.  In that way, the people chose what kind of government we will have, and what the government will do in the future.

            Federalism describes how power is shared in our government.  Federalism is a sharing of power between the states and the federal, or national, government.  The Constitution limits the power of the federal government and reserves all other functions of government to the states.  Some powers of government are shared by the state and federal governments.  For example, the Federal government has the sole power to regulate trade between the states, and declare war.  The state governments have the sole power to conduct elections and establish and maintain schools.   Taxing the citizens of the states and nation, building roads, and punishing people who break laws, are powers that the states and federal government share.

           Separation of Powers describes how power is divided in the federal government.  Separation of Powers is a division of power in the federal government between the three branches.  The Executive branch enforces laws.  The Legislative branch makes laws.  And, the Judicial branch interprets the laws under the Constitution.  No branch can do anything that is the power of another branch.  For example, the Executive branch cannot make law; it can only enforce the laws made by the Legislative branch.

          Checks and Balances determine how power is evenly distributed in our government.  Checks and Balances is the ability of each branch of government to exercise checks, or controls, over the other branches of government to keep any one branch from becoming too strong.  The system of Checks and Balances protects any one branch of government from assuming total power and ruling like a king.  Under this system the Executive branch can veto laws passed by the Legislative Branch, and the President chooses who will be on the Supreme Court of the Judicial branch.  The Legislative branch can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds vote of congress, and it can determine the number of justices the president can appoint to the Supreme Court.  The power of the Judicial branch is strong as well.  The Judicial branch can declare acts of the Executive branch, or laws passed by the Legislative branch to be unconstitutional.  If the Supreme Court finds that a law or act of the president violates the Constitution, or the people’s rights, the court declares the law or act unconstitutional and the law is erased to protect the rights of the people.

Limited Government is the Constitutional principle that restricts the powers of the federal government.  Limited Government means that all of the citizens of the United States, including political officials have to obey the laws, and it limits the powers of the federal government by listing the powers of government and reserving all other powers for the states and people.

            Individual Rights is the seventh, and final, Constitutional principle.  Individual Rights are the rights guaranteed to the people by the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution.  The Bill of Rights guarantees the citizens of the United States basic civil liberties and freedoms that the government cannot take away.  The rights that government cannot take away are sometimes called unalienable rights because they cannot be made alien from the people.

 

            The Constitution of the United States is divided into seven Articles, or chapters.  The Constitution begins with an introduction, called the Preamble.  The Preamble explains the purpose of the Constitution.

Preamble

                        We the people of the United States of America, in order to form a more     perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the             common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty    to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the      United States of American.

 

            Let’s look at what the Preamble means.

            “We the people of the United States of America” means that the people of the United States are the ones that are adopting this new government.

            “In order to form a more perfect union” means that the United States was creating a government in which the states work together, unlike that of the Articles of Confederation government.

            “Establish justice” is saying that the nation will make laws and set up a court system that is fair and nationwide.  These laws would apply to all citizens of the United States equally.

            The phrase “insure domestic tranquility” implies that the government will keep peace within the country, and put down riots and lawlessness that threaten the citizens such as Shay’s Rebellion had done under the Articles of Confederation government.

            The next line, “provide for the common defense” is stating that the government will protect the nation from attack by providing for a military to defend the nation.

            To “promote the general welfare” means that the government will contribute to the happiness and well-being of all citizens of the United States by making and enforcing laws that allow the people to prosper in the security that the government provides for them.

            The phrase “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” is saying that the Constitution, and the government, will make sure that these freedoms will be protected for the people of that time, and all of their descendants, to include even ourselves today, and our future generations.

            As you see, the Preamble explains the goals of the government under the Constitution of the United States.  The next seven Articles, or chapters, of the Constitution explain how the government is formed, how it works, and how it would be ratified by the people.

Article I

            Article I of the Constitution deals with the Legislative branch.  Article I’s purpose is to explain that the role of the legislative branch, or Congress, is to make laws. It explains that the Legislative branch is made up of the lower house, the House of Representatives, and the upper house, the Senate.  It further explains how representatives and senators will be elected, the qualifications for becoming a representative or senator, how bills are made into law, and what duties, powers, and responsibilities the Legislative branch has under the Constitution.

Article II

            Article II of the Constitution explains the Executive branch.  Article II’s purpose is to describe the roles, powers, and qualifications of the president and vice-president.  It describes how presidents and vice-presidents are elected by the Electoral College, what powers the president has, and how a president can be impeached, or removed from office if he convicted of certain crimes.

Article III

            Article III of the Constitution deals with the Judicial branch of government.  Article III’s purpose is to explain that the Judicial branch interprets the laws of the United States.  It sets up the Supreme Court, the nations highest court, explains the court’s authority, and the supremacy of federal law over state laws.

Article IV

            Article IV discusses relations among the states.  Article IV says that the states must honor the laws of other states, how new states are to be formed from territories the Untied States might gain in the future, and guarantees the states that they will have a republican form of government.

Article V

            Article V of the Constitution discusses how to change the Constitution.  An amendment is a change to the Constitution to adapt it to changing times.  Amendments can add to, take away, or just change the way the words are written in the Constitution as the nation evolves.  For example, when the Constitution was written in 1787, women could not vote.  The nation realized that this was unfair to women.  So, in 1920, the nation added the 19^th Amendment that gave women the right to vote in America.  Article V also explains how amendments are made, and how the country can agree to include, or refuse to accept amendments to the Constitution.

Article VI

            Article VI of the Constitution establishes the supremacy of national law over state laws.  To work, the national law has to be over the states laws.  Article VI states that laws passed by the Legislative branch, and signed into law by the president are supreme, as are treaties made by the national government.  It also makes all state officials promise to obey the federal laws, even if they do not agree with them by having them swear an oath to the Constitution.

Article VII

            The last Article of the Constitution, Article VII, describes the way in which the thirteen states would ratify, or accept, the Constitution.  It stated that nine of the thirteen states had to agree to adopt the Constitution for it to become our national government.  In the end, all thirteen states did ratify the Constitution.

 

The Bill of Rights

 

            Many citizens of the United States liked the Constitution, but were worried it did not contain a Bill of Rights that guaranteed the rights of U. S. citizens.  Though many states already had their own Bill of Rights, the rights were different from state to state, causing confusion about what the people could do, depending on what state they were in at the time.  To solve this, and to get the states to ratify the Constitution, James Madison, Father of the Constitution, helped write a Bill of Rights that applied to all Americans.

            The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the Constitution.  The Bill of Rights guarantees basic civil liberties and rights of the people.  England had denied colonial Americans many of their rights.  To make sure that this new government would not do the same, Madison protected these rights for all Americans in the Bill of Rights.  When Madison promised to write these rights and include them in the Constitution with amendments, the nation eagerly ratified the Constitution.

 

The First Amendment

            The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights guarantees five basic rights to all Americans. The First Amendment guarantees our rights to freedom or religion, so Americans can worship, or not, as they please, without government persecuting the people.  England had denied colonial Americans freedom to worship as they please, and in some colonies made the citizens pay taxes to support the Church of England, even if they did not attend that church.

The First Amendment guarantees the right to freedom of speech.  With freedom of speech, Americans are free to criticize their government without fear of punishment.  England had punished anyone who said anything negative about the King of England or its government.  Now Americans had this right.

It also guarantees Americans right to freedom of the press.  Freedom of the press ensures that newspapers, radio stations, and television programs can publish information about the government without fear of the government punishing them, or shutting their business down.  England had shut down newspapers that described how England was abusing colonial Americans’ rights.  With freedom of the press in the First Amendment, the American media has the power to tell the citizens if the government abuses their rights.

The fourth freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment is the freedom of assembly.  England had denied colonial Americans the right to peaceably assemble to protest the British government.  Now this right for Americans to protest their government was protected as well.

The fifth and final freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment is the freedom to petition.  When colonial Americans had petitioned England to change its policies that hurt them, England punished those citizens that had signed the petition.  With the right to petition guaranteed in the First Amendment, all Americans are guaranteed the right to petition their government to change without fear of persecution.

 

The Second Amendment

                        The Second Amendment of the Constitution is a hotly debated amendment today.  The second Amendment gives the citizens of the United States the right to own weapons to defend them.  It states, “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of the state, the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”  Though the meaning of the amendment is argued, it means that since a nation could become harmful to the citizens, and that people need to be able to defend themselves from those that would harm them, the people can own weapons to defend themselves, and that this right cannot be taken away.  You will remember that the British tried to take away our gunpowder and weapons at the Battles of Lexington and Concord, thinking that without weapons, we could not defend ourselves and they could do as they wanted with us.  The Second Amendment guarantees that this will not happen to Americans.

 

 

 

The Third Amendment

            The Third Amendment to the Constitution is the Quartering Act.  England had quartered British troops in colonial American’s homes without paying them for it.  The nation did not want our government to be able to do that.  So the Third Amendment states that the Untied States government shall never take over a citizens home to quarter troops in peacetime, and can only do it in a time of war if it obeys the laws that would be passed at that time, and then, only if really necessary to defend the nation.

 

The Fourth Amendment

            The Fourth Amendment establishes the rights of the citizens from illegal search and seizure.  England had routinely searched colonial homes without search warrants, and seized colonial Americans property without due process of the law.  The Fourth Amendment right guarantees Americans that the government cannot search your property without a search warrant.

 

The Fifth Amendment

            The Fifth Amendment guarantees a citizen who is accused of a crime rights to due process of the law.  Under the Fifth Amendment, the government has to prove that the accused person is guilty.  Unlike what England had done, where a person had to prove their innocence at trial.  It establishes that the government cannot take a citizens life, property, or freedom without due process of the law, a fair trial.

 

The Sixth Amendment

            The Sixth Amendment of the Bill of Rights guarantees citizens the right to a speedy, public trial.  Under England, accused people often stayed in jail without trial because England knew they did not really commit any crimes, but wanted them in jail where they could not support American independence.  England also would try accused people without allowing the public see the trial so they could find the person by not allowing him, or her, the right to witnesses to speak for them to prove their innocence.  The Sixth Amendment ensured that this would not happen to Americans ever again.

 

 

The Seventh Amendment

            The Seventh Amendment makes certain that all Americans have the right to a trial by a jury of their peers.  England tried American in Admiralty courts in which British officers would decide the accused person’s guilt or innocence.  British officers have to do what the King of England ordered them to do, and the King could order the officers to decide the American was guilty, even if he, or she, was not.  Therefore, the Seventh Amendment allows that Americans guilt or innocence will be decided by a jury of their peers, citizens that listen to the evidence and decide guilt or innocence based on the fact of the trial, and the law of the nation.

 

The Eighth Amendment

The Eighth Amendment limits punishment that can be placed on people convicted under the laws.  It states that punishment for the crime must be reasonable.  For example, you cannot be sentenced to death for speeding.  It also establishes that people cannot be tortured to obtain their confession.   Cruel and unusual punishment or excessive fines cannot be imposed.  Again, England would often give Americans punishment, even the death penalty, for small crimes, and torture people to get them to confess to their crimes.  The Eighth Amendment protects Americans from these abuses.

 

The Ninth Amendment

            The Ninth Amendment extends the rights of Americans further.  The authors of the Bill of Rights knew they could never list all the rights that Americans had.  So, the Ninth Amendment states that Americans have other rights that are not specifically listed, and that just because they are not written down in the Constitution or the Bill if Rights does not mean they do not have them.

 

The Tenth Amendment

            The Tenth, and final amendment in the Bill of Rights, extends rights to the states and to the people.  The Tenth Amendment states that all rights not specifically reserved for the federal government in the Constitution are to be considered the rights of the states and the citizens of the states.  This right limits the powers and rights of the federal governments and protects the rights of the states and the people.

 

Selected Other Amendments of

 The Constitution of the United States

 

            The Constitution of the United States has a total of twenty-seven amendments.  That means in over 200 years, the people of the Untied States have only had to make twenty-seven changes.  Since the first ten amendments, called the Bill of Rights, were all done at the same time, this really means that the United States have really only changed the Constitution seventeen times in over 200 years.  This shows that the Constitution of the United States was a very well-thought out document that has guided our nation very well.

            Yet, the people of the United States have found the need to change the Constitution from time to time to fix problems in it.  Mainly, the problems they have fixed were problems where the Constitution did not extend the rights it provides for to enough Americans.  As the nation grew and people evolved, the ideas of liberty, freedom, and voting and who they should be extended to changed.  The following paragraphs discuss some selected amendments you should know, and how they extended the blessings of liberty to more people.

 

The Thirteenth Amendment

            Between 1861 and 1865, the United States fought a bloody Civil War to end slavery in the nation.  Still, at the end of the Civil War, slavery had to be eliminated from the Constitution to free the slaves.  The Constitution allowed slavery under the Three-fifths Compromise.  These compromises had allowed slavery in the United States.  So, in 1865, right after the Civil War, the nation abolished slavery with the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment.  The Thirteenth Amendment, in effect, scratched out the Three-fifths Compromise and the Slave Trade Compromise.

 

The Fourteenth Amendment

            With slavery abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment, African-Americans were free, but still were not citizens of the nation, and therefore not protected by the nation’s laws.  So, in 1868, the nation passed the Fourteenth Amendment.  The Fourteenth Amendment defined citizenship to be anyone born in America, or that had become a citizen of any of the states.  This included the African-Americans living in America as citizens.  The amendment continued by saying that the states could not deny any citizen their rights as Americans.  Furthermore, the Fourteenth Amendment stated that former slaves would be counted as a whole person towards taxation and representation, undoing the Three-Fifths Compromise.

 

The Fifteenth Amendment

            Though the Thirteenth Amendment had abolished slavery, and the Fourteenth Amendment had granted citizenship rights to former slaves, African-American men were being denied the right to vote in many states.  The Constitution granted the power to run elections to the states, and many states chose not to let African-American men to vote.  This problem was solved by the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment.  This amendment stated that the states could not deny anyone the right to vote based on their “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

 

The Nineteenth Amendment

            Though former slaves had been granted the right to vote, it did not extend to women.  In fact, the Constitution had not granted any women the right to vote.  In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, many women marched and protested that they too should be allowed the basic right to vote in elections.  The reform movement was called the Suffrage Movement.  Suffrage is the right to vote.  After all, women made up one-half of the population.  Denying one-half of the population the right to vote based on gender was wrong.  It was a long struggle.  However, in 1919, the nation passed the Nineteenth Amendment that at long last finally gave women the right to vote in the United States.