THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES sets forth the nation's fundamental laws.
It establishes the form of the national government and defines the rights and liberties of the American people. It also lists the aims of the national government and the methods of achieving them. Previously, the nation's leaders had established an alliance among the states under the Articles of Confederation. But the Congress created by the Articles lacked the authority to make the states work together to solve national problems.
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| Top, Benjamin Franklin's 1754 drawing of severed snakes calls for unity among the colonies who, with the British, confronted France in the French and Indian War. (The Library of Congress)
Above, a later call for unity appears in July 1776 illustration of 13 hands -- symbolizing the colonies declaration of independence from Britain. (ctsy. the Henry Francis Dupont Winterthur Museum) |
After the states won independence in the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), they faced all the problems of peacetime government. The states had to enforce law and order, collect taxes, pay a large public debt, and regulate trade among themselves. They also had to deal with Indian tribes and negotiate with other governments. Leading statesmen, such as George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, began to discuss the need to create a strong national government under a new constitution.
Hamilton helped bring about a constitutional convention that met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation. But a majority of the delegates at the convention decided instead to write a new plan of government -- the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution established not merely a league of states, but a government that exercised its authority directly over all citizens. The Constitution defines the powers delegated to the national government. In addition, it protects the powers reserved to the states and the rights of every individual.
