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click to review the online content. then answer the question(s) below, using complete sentences. constitution fundamentals
imagine that you live in a country that has only recently become independent. you’ve been asked to rewrite the country’s constitution—the supreme law of the land. what type of structure would you want the government to have? what ideals and principles should serve as the foundation for the constitution?
the first constitution
in 1787, delegates at the constitutional convention in philadelphia faced questions like these. they had gathered to make changes to the articles of confederation—an agreement between the original thirteen states. it was the country’s first constitution.
under the articles, the states joined together under a national, or federal, government. they kept their own governments, though. dividing power between state governments and a national government is called federalism.
the congress of the confederation was the only national institution. all of the states had equal representation in the congress. despite great differences in size, population, and wealth, each state had one vote.
the states remained independent, free, and sovereign. this means that they kept complete control over their own affairs.
the federal government had little authority. it could make decisions about war and foreign affairs, appoint military officers, and borrow money. but it had no power to tax the states or make them provide soldiers for the army. it could not protect trade with foreign countries. and it had no control over interstate commerce, or trade between the states.
you might wonder why americans wanted such a weak federal government. the answer is that they were very suspicious of powerful governments. as colonists, they had suffered under the harsh rule of great britain. they had viewed king george iii as a tyrant. they had thought that the british parliament ignored their rights and abused its power. they worried that a strong us federal government might behave the same way toward its people. therefore they gave it few powers. this is called “limited government.”
before long, the weakness of the government began to cause big problems. the country teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. it was not able to pay its soldiers. it could not repay loans to other countries. trade wars between states hurt the economy. state legislatures passed laws that seemed tyrannical to many americans.
the federal government could do little to solve these problems. state leaders realized that the government needed to have more powers. this led to the constitutional convention in 1787.
the new constitution
the convention delegates soon dropped the idea of simply making changes to the articles of confederation. instead they began drafting a completely new constitution. after more than three months of debating and compromising, they approved a final draft.
the new constitution of the united states gave the federal government many new powers. but it also set firm limits: the government would have only the powers given to it by the constitution. all other powers would belong to the states or the people.
the constitution split the government into three parts. this “separation of powers” was meant to prevent tyranny. the legislative branch, consisting of the two houses of congress, would write the country’s laws. the executive branch, led by the president, would enforce the laws. the judicial branch would have courts that would interpret the laws.
separation of powers is a fundamental part of the constitution.
to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful, framers of the constitution put in place a system of “checks and balances.” that is, they gave each branch ways to limit and influence the actions of the other branches. for example, even though only congress could make laws, the president could veto the proposed laws. the supreme court could reject laws that violate the constitution. checks and balances would encourage the three branches to work together.
checks and balances ensure that no one branch becomes more powerful than the other two.
george washington served as president of the constitutional convention. as it neared an end, he said, “i do not expect the constitution to last for more than twenty years.” he could not have been more wrong. the constitution continues to serve as the foundation of the us government today. it has endured longer than any other constitution in the world.
name three things the framers of the constitution did to keep the federal government or any part of it from becoming too powerful.