Dove's LibraryDove's Library

Constitution of the United States

Origins and Purpose

The Constitution was written at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, which met from May 25 to September 17, 1787. Fifty-five delegates from twelve states attended (Rhode Island refused to send anyone), and George Washington presided. James Madison's Virginia Plan shaped the starting draft, which is why he's called the "Father of the Constitution." A "Grand Committee" with one delegate from each state worked out the compromise on representation, Gouverneur Morris polished the final wording, and Alexander Hamilton signed for New York before defending the plan, with Madison and John Jay, in the Federalist Papers. Thirty-nine delegates signed on September 17, 1787. Under Article VII, nine states had to ratify it, which happened when New Hampshire voted yes on June 21, 1788, and the Constitution took effect when the new government began on March 4, 1789.
The Preamble opens with "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union" and lists the government's goals: justice, domestic peace, common defense, the general welfare, and liberty. Those first three words mark a big shift from the Articles of Confederation: power now comes from the people (popular sovereignty), not from the states. The Constitution is also a social contract that sets up limited government, since the national government mainly has only the powers the document gives it.

The Seven Articles

  • Article I (Legislative Branch): creates a bicameral Congress. House members serve two-year terms, with seats based on each state's population, and each state gets two senators serving six-year terms (chosen by state legislatures until the 17th Amendment in 1913). Section 8 lists Congress's enumerated powers, like taxing, borrowing, regulating interstate and foreign commerce, coining money, declaring war, and raising armies, and ends with the Necessary and Proper (Elastic) Clause, which lets Congress make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out those powers. Section 9 limits Congress: no suspending habeas corpus except during rebellion or invasion, and no bills of attainder or ex post facto laws.
  • Article II (Executive Branch): "The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America." The president serves a four-year term, is chosen by the Electoral College, acts as commander in chief, makes treaties (with two-thirds of the senators present) and appointments (with Senate consent), and must "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." A president can be impeached and removed for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." Federalist No. 70 defends this single, energetic executive.
  • Article III (Judicial Branch): creates "one supreme Court" and lets Congress create lower courts. Judges serve "during good Behaviour," which in practice means for life, the independence Hamilton defends in Federalist No. 78. Judicial review isn't written here; the Supreme Court claimed it in Marbury v. Madison (1803).
  • Article IV (Relations Among States): requires states to give Full Faith and Credit to each other's legal records, protects the Privileges and Immunities of citizens traveling between states, requires extradition of fugitives, sets the process for admitting new states, and guarantees every state "a Republican Form of Government."
  • Article V (Amendments): amendments are proposed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, or by a national convention called at the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures (never used so far), and then ratified by three-fourths of the states. Compared to the Articles' rule that every state had to agree, this makes change hard but possible.
  • Article VI (Supremacy): makes the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties "the supreme Law of the Land," so federal law wins when it truly conflicts with state law. It also bans religious tests for holding federal office.
  • Article VII (Ratification): the Constitution would take effect once nine of the thirteen states ratified it, instead of requiring all thirteen.

Compromises at the Convention

  • Great (Connecticut) Compromise: large states backed the Virginia Plan (representation based on population), while small states backed the New Jersey Plan (one equal vote per state). The compromise, adopted in July 1787, created a House based on population and a Senate with two senators per state, and required all revenue bills to start in the House (Article I, Section 7).
  • Three-Fifths Compromise: when counting population for House seats and direct taxes, states added up free persons plus "three fifths of all other Persons," meaning enslaved people (Article I, Section 2). This boosted Southern power in the House and the Electoral College. The original Constitution never uses the word "slave," and Section 2 of the 14th Amendment (1868) later replaced this formula.
  • Importation of Enslaved People: Congress couldn't ban the importation of enslaved people before 1808 (Article I, Section 9), and Article V even blocked amendments to that clause until then. Congress banned the trade as soon as it was allowed to, effective January 1, 1808.
  • Electoral College: some delegates wanted Congress to choose the president, and others wanted a popular vote. The compromise gives each state electors equal to its number of senators plus representatives, and those electors choose the president (Article II, Section 1).
  • Bill of Rights: Anti-Federalists attacked the Constitution for having no bill of rights, and several states ratified only with recommended amendments attached. Federalists promised to add them, Madison introduced the amendments in the First Congress in 1789, and the states ratified ten of them, the Bill of Rights, on December 15, 1791.

The Bill of Rights and Later Amendments

The first ten amendments limit the national government. The First Amendment protects religion (the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses), speech, press, assembly, and petition; the Second protects the right to keep and bear arms; the Fourth bans unreasonable searches and seizures; the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth protect people accused of crimes (due process, no self-incrimination or double jeopardy, a speedy public trial with a lawyer, and no cruel and unusual punishment); and the Ninth and Tenth protect rights and powers that aren't listed, with powers not given to the national government "reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
  • Reconstruction Amendments: the 13th (1865) abolished slavery, the 14th (1868) made all persons born or naturalized in the United States citizens and barred states from denying anyone "due process of law" or "the equal protection of the laws," and the 15th (1870) banned denying the vote based on race. The 14th's Due Process Clause is the basis for selective incorporation, which applies most of the Bill of Rights to the states.
  • Expanding the Vote and Changing Institutions: the 17th (1913) let voters elect senators directly, the 19th (1920) protected women's right to vote, the 22nd (1951) limited presidents to two elected terms, the 24th (1964) banned poll taxes in federal elections, and the 26th (1971) lowered the voting age to 18.

Big picture

The Constitution is the blueprint for nearly everything in this course. Articles I to III build the three branches and the walls between them (separation of powers and checks and balances, explained in Federalist No. 51). Enumerated powers, the Supremacy Clause, and the Tenth Amendment draw the line between national and state power (federalism). The Bill of Rights and later amendments protect civil liberties and civil rights. Where the Articles of Confederation built a weak league of sovereign states, the Constitution created a national government strong enough to actually govern, but split up and limited so that no single person, branch, or level of government could take over. Article V keeps the blueprint updatable, which is a big reason it has lasted since 1789 with only 27 amendments.

Uses for Argumentative Essays

  • Principles: popular sovereignty, social contract, limited government, separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, and republicanism.
  • Where it shows up: everywhere. The CED says the Constitution applies to nearly every learning objective, so it doesn't list them. It's named directly in Topic 1.1 (EK 1.1.A.3: a social contract that sets up limited government), Topic 1.5 (EK 1.5.A.1 and EK 1.5.A.2: the Convention's compromises and the Article V amendment process), and Topic 2.8 (EK 2.8.A.1: Article III and the judicial branch).
  • In an argument essay: name the exact part you mean, not just "the Constitution." For example, cite the Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I, Section 8) for broad national power, the Tenth Amendment for state power, the Supremacy Clause (Article VI) for federal law beating state law, or the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause for civil rights.

AP® is a registered trademark of the College Board, which is not affiliated with Dove's Library and was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this website.

Providing free, high-quality AP notes to help students succeed, earn college credit, and reach their educational goals, ensuring everyone has access to the resources they need.

© 2026 Standard Learning Group, Inc., which operates Dove's Library. All rights reserved.