Text and Explanation of the US Constitution from the Annenberg Policy Center
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AN ORIGIN STORY
THE FRAMERS
Due to societal constructs of the time, all of the delegates were men. Some are famous names we recognize today, like George Washington, James Madison, and equally important figures we may not, like George Mason and Roger Sherman. And also a new man in New York you may have heard of.
Click HERE for a look at all the participants, courtesy of the National Archives.
Fifty-five delegates attended at least part of the Constitutional Convention, held in Philadelphia beginning on May 25, 1787. Chosen by their state legislatures, they received instructions from Congress to revise the failing Articles of Confederation. After a summer spent debating and drafting, the Framers arrived at the final text for a new framework of government, which they signed on September 17, 1787.
The National Archives aptly points out that "the Constitution acted like a colossal merger, uniting a group of states with different interests, laws, and cultures. Under America’s first national government, the Articles of Confederation, the states acted together only for specific purposes. The Constitution united its citizens as members of a whole, vesting the power of the union in the people. Without it, the American Experiment might have ended as quickly as it had begun."
ARTICLES & AMENDMENTS
Article I: The Legislative Branch
Article II: The Executive Branch
Article III: The Judicial Branch
Article IV: States, Citizenship, New States
Article V: Amendment Process
Article VI: Debts, Supremacy, Oaths, Religious Tests
Article VII: Ratification
Bill of Rights
First Amendment- Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press,
Assembly, and Petition
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Second Amendment- Right to Bear Arms
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Third Amendment- Quartering of Soldiers
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Fourth Amendment- Search and Seizure
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Fifth Amendment- Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self-
Incrimination, Due Process, Takings
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Sixth Amendment- Right to Speedy Trial by Jury, Witnesses,
Counsel
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Seventh Amendment- Jury Trial in Civil Lawsuits
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Eighth Amendment- Excessive Fines, Cruel and Unusual
Punishment
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Ninth Amendment- Non-Enumerated Rights Retained by
People
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10th Amendment- Rights Reserved to States or People
11th Amendment -Suits Against States
12th Amendment- Election of President and Vice President
Reconstruction Amendments
13th Amendment- Abolition of Slavery
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14th Amendment- Citizenship Rights, Equal Protection,
Apportionment, Civil War Debt
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15th Amendment- Right to Vote Not Denied by Race
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​​16th Amendment- Income Tax
17th Amendment- Popular Election of Senators
18th Amendment- Prohibition of Liquor
19th Amendment- Women’s Right to Vote
20th Amendment- Presidential Term and Succession, Assembly of Congress
21st Amendment- Repeal of Prohibition
22nd Amendment- Two-Term Limit on Presidency
23rd Amendment- Presidential Vote for D.C.
24th Amendment- Abolition of Poll Taxes
25th Amendment- Presidential Disability and Succession
26th Amendment- Right to Vote at Age 18
27th Amendment- Congressional Compensation
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