When was the U.S. Constitution written?

~ written in 1787~ ratified on June 21, 1788~in effect since 1789

Who created the Constitution?~ 55 delegates (aka the ‘Framers’ of the Constitution)~William Pierce, Abraham Baldwin, Richard Bassett, Gunning Bedford, John Blair, William Blount, David Brearly, Jaboc Broom, Pierce Butler, Daniel Carroll, George Clymer, William Richardson Davie, Jonathan Dayton, John Dickson, Oliver Ellsworth, William Few, Thomas Fitzsimmons, Benjamin Franklin, Elbridge Gerry, Nicholas Gilman, Nathaniel Gorham, Alexander Hamilton, William Churchill Huston, Jared Ingersoll, Daniel Jenifer of St. Thomas, William Samuel Johnson, Rufus King, John Langdon, John Lansing, William Livingston, James Madison, Alexander Martin, Luther Martin, George Mason, James McClurg, James McHenry, Thomas Mifflin, Gouverneur Morris, Robert Morris, William Paterson, Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Edmund Randolph, George Read, John Rutledge, Roger Sherman, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Caleb Stron, George Washington, Hugh Williamson, James Wilson, George Wythe, Robert Yates

Why was it written?~States’ Governments

States were quarreling over their boundaries States had their own currency, which caused

trading issues between states, and there was unfair and inconsistant taxes over the imported goods

~ Federalists VS Antifederalists Federalists believed the central federal government needed to be

stronger Antifederalists believed each state should basically be it’s own

country by caring for themselves

~ Shays Rebellion Daniel Shays was the leader of a group of vets from the Revolutionary War Believed they were being treated unfairly (they had just come home from war and were

faced with mortgage forclosures) Wanted cheap paper money, less taxation, and the federal government to intervain Got guns and threatened the Massachusettes state government; state government got

it’s own group to fight against it’s own people; 3 killed, 1 wounded

What events led to its creation?

~ Shays Rebellion~ Economy headed towards a depressionDebt from the Revolutionary WarSome states didn’t want to pay so interest went upAmerica’s credit rating evaporated abroad

~ Revolutionary War led to the Articles of Confederation, which provided a weak federal government

Where was it written?~ PhiledelphiaOriginally, there was dispute about the Constitution

being written in AnnapolisHamilton propsed the idea of it being written in

Philedelphia, the same place the Declaration was writtenEveryone comprimised on Hamilton’s idea

Documents the Constitution was modeled after:

~ Social Contract (Rousseau) Government of the people

~ Commentaries on the Laws of England (Blackstone) Rights and wrongs of people in a society

~ The Articles of ConfederationWeak example of how federal government should be run

~ The Spirit of the Laws (Montesquieu) Seperation of pwers and constitutionalism

~ Two Treatises of Government (Locke) Every man created equal under God

What problems in our society did the

Constitution sold?~ Stronger federal government

3 branches of government: Judicial, Executive, LegislativeChecks and Balances

~ Electoral CollegeFair representation from

each state for presidential electons

What are its limitations?

~ Government is limited The people give the government it’s power Each branch has it’s own powers so the government won’t be all-poweful

~ Constitutionalism Government must obey the laws just like the people

If I could improve the Constitution...

I would not change anything.

Present day...Is the Constitution still relevant today as it was when it was first created? I believe it is... Unfortuantely, many people disagree and believe it’s not relevant. They believe there should be changes and exceptions made because the original Constitution is “out-dated”. These people make up groups such as some government officials, the IRS, and certain political groups that everyday people are apart of. I believe the original Constitution is right, fair, and just. In this present time, however, the government has tried to change things around, fluff some things up, and make it “better”. This goes completely agaisnt what the Framers wanted. They were even afraid this would happen and tried to prevent it. The governement is becoming more and more powerful by changing things around to fit their liking. If the Framers were alive today, I think they’d have a heart attack seeing what’s been happening recently with our federal government. They even left us instructions in both the Declaration and the Constitution for what we should do if the government tries to become more powerful and change things around. Sadly, though, many people just go along with what the government wants and tells them. Nowadays, people depend so much on the government, it’s like we can’t take care of ourselves at all, which just gives the government even more power. To many, the Constitution is just an old piece of paper that needs refined every now and then to make everyone happy. That’s not what it was written to be, it was written to be an everlasting document of significance that should, in my opinion, not only apply at the time they wrote it, but in the generations to come, including this one right now. So, is the Constitution relevant to me? Yes, it most definately is. I just hope others will see it like I do and come to their senses as soon as possible.

~ http://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm

~ http://www.usconstitution.net/constframe.html

~ The American Pageant: A History of the Republic Volume 1 Fourth Edition by Thomas A. Bailey

~ http://www.slideshare.net/Alicbrock/us-constitution-powerpoint

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