United States Constitution
Many people think that the United States Constitution is what made us a nation. Well, I have news for you, folks; we were already a nation when our constitution was written and approved in 1787.
It was written by many different people, among them: John Dickinson, Gouverneur Morris, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Thomas Paine, Edmund Randolph, James Madison, Rodger Sherman, James Wilson, and George Wythe.
Gouverneur Morris was put in charge of this group for the writing and editing.
From the National Archive and Records Administration
US Constitution Facts
- The Constitution was approved by a unanimous vote of each state delegation on September 15, 1787.
- It was signed by 39 delegates of the congress on September 17th, 1787.
- Three delegates—Edmund Randolph, George Mason, and Elbridge Gerry—refused to sign it. George Mason would become the driving force behind the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the constitution.
- The first state to sign it was Delaware.
- The first signer of the document, unlike the Declaration of Independence, was not John Hancock, but was George Washington.
- It was ratified on July 2, 1788, when New Hampshire became the 9th state to approve it.
- The idea for the U.S. Constitution came from a group of British government policies that really worked in Britain.
- The United States Constitution is the oldest constitution that is still being used.
From the National Archive and Records Administration
The Constitution is a sacred document to us and has helped make our government what it is today.
Text of the Constitution
