“We,
the people of the United States, 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 for the United
States of America.”
The United States Constitution was developed by the
Continental Congress and primarily written by future president James Madison in
1787. The document frames the rules of how American government should operate
to be fair and avoid corruption.
The first seven articles form the branches of government.
The 27 amendments have been implemented to update and/or modify the existing
document.
This outline of each article and amendment is by no
means complete but serves as a guide to summarize and point out key parts of
the Constitution.
But before that, how about some trivia?
*The United States has the oldest and shortest national
Constitution in the world
*The original document is displayed at the National Archives Museum in
Washington, D.C.
*John Adams and Thomas Jefferson did not sign the Constitution, as they were in
Great Britain and France, respectively
*Almost 12,000 amendments have been proposed since the Constitution was adopted
*At 81, Benjamin Franklin was the oldest person to sign the Constitution and is
one of six people whose signature is on both it and the Declaration Of
Independence
And now, the Constitution of the United States…
ARTICLE ONE
*the
legislative branch shall be called Congress and consist of a Senate and a House
Of Representatives, both existing for the purpose of creating laws
*the House proposes bills which are then sent to the Senate for debate and
acceptance or rejection
*if a bill passes the House and Senate, it is given to the President for final
approval or refusal (known as veto)
*this bi-cameral system (having two legislative entities) ensures
neither has too much power, often referred to as “checks and balances”
*a Senator must be at least 30 years of age and have been a U.S. citizen for at
least nine of those years
*a Senator’s term is six years and that person must live in the State being
represented upon election
*each State must have two and only two Senators
*the Vice President presides over the Senate but has no vote unless there is a
tie
*the Senate oversees all impeachment trials and at least two-thirds of its
members must be present during them
*a Representative must be at least 25 years of age and have been a U.S. citizen
for at least seven of those years
*a Representative’s term is two years and that person must live in the State
being represented upon election
*only the House Of Representatives can begin the impeachment process
*all of Congress must meet once per year on the first Monday in December
*Congress-people may not be arrested while sitting in session, except for cases
involving treason, a felony, and/or breach of the peace
*no State may conspire with another or a foreign power to declare war unless in
imminent danger
ARTICLE TWO
*a
President (along with a Vice President) leads the executive branch and is to be
elected every four years
*the Electoral College officially chooses the President (for a sort-of
explanation of how that works, go here)
*a person running for President must have been born in the U.S., be at least 35
years of age, and have lived in the country for at least 14 of those years
*if the President is unable to act as such for any reason, the Vice President
will be sworn in as the next President
*the President will receive an established salary for the term and may not
accept any other form of compensation
*an oath to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution” must be made by
any person entering the office of presidency
*the President is the Commander-in-Chief, meaning the leader of all military
branches and affairs
*the President and any other officer may be removed from office if convicted of
treason, bribery, and/or high crimes and misdemeanors, which mostly means
mis-conduct pertaining to the office
*the President can pardon any person found guilty of a crime, except in cases
of impeachment
*the President must give regular State Of The Union speeches to inform Congress
of governmental affairs
ARTICLE THREE
*the Supreme Court is the highest level in the judicial branch and out-ranks
any court except for cases of impeachment
*every arrested person has the right to a jury trial in the State where the
crime allegedly occurred
*a person can only be convicted of treason if two witnesses tell the same story
in open court
ARTICLE FOUR
*each State is given equal confidence that its legal system is effective and
fair
*an accused person who flees to another State can be extradited back to the
trial State
*new States may be admitted to the union only with Congressional approval
ARTICLE FIVE
*for an amendment to be added to the Constitution, it must be endorsed by two-thirds
of both congressional houses then ratified (formally agreed to) by
three-fourths of the states
ARTICLE SIX
*all federal and personal debts that existed before the Constitution are still
valid
*judges and politicians must swear an oath to uphold the Constitution
*no religious test is required to hold office
Note: England implemented a religious test for politicians from 1673-1689 to
keep everyone but Protestants from holding office
ARTICLE SEVEN
*the Constitution is agreed upon and adopted by members of the government,
namely then-President George Washington
---
The first ten amendments of the
Constitution are the Bill Of Rights, all of which were ratified in 1791. These
rights are guaranteed for all citizens.
This was inspired by Virginia’s Commonwealth
Declaration Of Rights, which was written by politician George Mason, who
refused to endorse a national Constitution without a Bill Of Rights.
1ST AMENDMENT
*Congress cannot establish a religion nor prohibit any person from practicing
one
*freedoms of speech (with a few exceptions), the press, peaceful assembly, and to
petition the government are all guaranteed without punishment
2ND AMENDMENT
*the people may keep and bear arms as part of a necessary, well-regulated
militia
3RD AMENDMENT
*unless the U.S. is at war, no soldier can be quartered in any house without
consent of the owner
4TH AMENDMENT
*no person’s body and/or belongings can be searched or detained without a
warrant based on probable cause that has been issued by a judge
5th AMENDMENT
*indictment by a grand jury is necessary for a case to go to trial, except in
the military
*a person cannot be tried for the same crime more than once, unless there is a
mis-trial or the person is tried at both the State and Federal levels
*“the right to remain silent” - no defendant is required to act as a
witness against him/her-self
*arrestees are entitled the due process of the law, meaning their rights cannot
be delayed nor taken away
*if the government wants to take someone’s private land (eminent domain),
that person must be paid according to current real estate rates
6th AMENDMENT
*any person accused of a crime has the right to a speedy and fair trial by an
un-biased jury
*people have the right to know what they are accused of and why
*defendants are entitled to confront witnesses against them, find witnesses of
their own, and have legal counsel
7th AMENDMENT
*a jury trial must be made available for any case in which the crime exceeds 20
dollars
Note: there is actually no minimum amount for a lawsuit, but $20 would equal
around $680 in today’s money
8th AMENDMENT
*a judge cannot impose excessive bail, unwarranted fines, or “cruel and unusual
punishment”
9th AMENDMENT
*people are not limited to only the rights explicitly-stated in the
Constitution
*examples: choosing what to read or the right to privacy
10th AMENDMENT
*powers not given to Congress shall be enforced by individual States
11th AMENDMENT
(ratified in 1795)
*with a few exceptions, a State cannot be sued by a resident of another State
Note: this amendment was added after a man in South Carolina sued Georgia for
not paying him for goods provided during the American Revolution
12th AMENDMENT
(1804)
*the Electors cast ballots for President and whoever gets the most of those
votes is the winner, meaning the person with the most nation-wide votes by
citizens is not necessarily the one elected
*if no presidential candidate has enough Electoral votes to win, the House Of
Representatives selects the winner
*if a President is not chosen by March 4th, the previous Vice
President gets the title
*if the above happens, the person with the most vice presidential votes becomes
Vice President, which could possibly result in politicians from different
parties holding the offices
*no person who is Constitutionally ineligible to be President may run for Vice
President, meaning the VP must also meet presidential qualifications of
citizenship, etc.
Note: in 1800, John Adams’s Vice-President was Thomas Jefferson; the two had
opposing views and failed to work together; after this, candidates had running
mates who would automatically be VP if that candidate won
13th Amendment
(1865)
*slavery is abolished unless used as punishment for a crime
Note: due to the exception, black people were frequently (and easily) convicted
of small offenses and their sentences were to work on plantations
14th AMENDMENT
(1868)
*any person, regardless of race or any other factor, born or naturalized into
the U.S., is a citizen and has rights reflecting such
*no State may make a law prohibiting anyone from their rights
*all citizens are granted equal protection under the law
*any State denying the right to vote for males aged 21 and over would risk
losing a proportional amount of Representatives in Congress (this was rarely
enforced)
*the U.S. government would neither owe nor pay debts to people who lost
property (land and/or people) as a result of the Civil War
*no person who has sworn an oath to protect the U.S. but failed to do so may
hold another office
Note: had Donald Trump been convicted of inciting the Capitol riot on
January 6th, 2021, he would’ve been Constitutionally barred from
running for President again
15th AMENDMENT
(1870)
*all (male) citizens have the right to vote, which cannot be removed because
of race, color, or previous servitude
16th AMENDMENT
(1913)
*Congress has the power to collect income tax
Note: income tax was originally implemented to raise funds for World War One;
a similar mandate was imposed to finance the Civil War but expired in 1872
17th AMENDMENT
(1913)
*each State will have two Senators who are elected by the citizens of it
*if there is a senatorial vacancy, the State’s governor can appoint someone to
the position until there is a public vote
18th AMENDMENT
(1919)
*the sale, manufacture, and transportation of all alcohol is not allowed
19th AMENDMENT
(1920)
*all citizens have the right to vote, which cannot be removed because of their
sex
*neither pro-Prohibitionists nor suffragettes (women who favored the
legalization of their voting) had enough support on their own, so they unofficially
teamed up to get the respective bills passed into law
20th AMENDMENT
(1933)
*a President’s term ends on its fourth year at noon on January 20th
*a Senator’s term ends on its sixth year at noon on January 3rd
*a Representative’s term ends on its second year at noon on January 3rd
*Congress will meet as a whole once per year on January 3rd at noon
21st AMENDMENT
(1933)
*alcohol is once again legal, repealing the 18th Amendment
22nd AMENDMENT
(1951)
*no President can be elected more than twice
*no person who was not elected President but has held the office for more than
two years (such as a Vice President who took over after a President’s death)
can be elected more than once
Note: this was imposed after Franklin Roosevelt was elected to four
presidential terms
23rd AMENDMENT
(1961)
*people living in Washington, D.C., can cast votes for President
*elected Representatives of Washington, D.C., cannot vote within Congress
24th AMENDMENT
(1964)
*no person can be denied the right to vote due to lack of poll tax payment
25th AMENDMENT
(1967)
*the Vice President will become President if the latter vacates the office for
any reason
*if the Vice Presidency is vacant, the President can nominate someone to the
office, who would then need a majority of votes by both houses of Congress
*a President who voluntarily suspends his or her duties must do so in writing
to the Vice President and the Speaker Of The House
*Congress has 21 days to determine if a President returning from suspension of
duties is still fit to serve the office with a 2/3 vote
26th AMENDMENT
(1971)
*any citizen aged 18 or over has the right to vote
27th AMENDMENT
(1992)
*members of Congress may not raise their salaries during the session they are
serving in
Note: this was originally proposed with the Bill Of Rights but did not have
enough state votes to become law; a college student got a C on an essay about the
intended amendment and his “revenge” was getting it legally adopted into the
Constitution
And now you have that information. Time to learn about
other things!
I appreciate the succinct explanation.
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