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The importance of the United States Constitution is still present in the public mind — we often hear politicians call things "unconstitutional" when they want to protect their traditional beliefs from change or defend the founding principles of the nation — and the three branches of government have remained: the legislative branch (Congress), the executive branch (the presidency), and the judicial branch (the Supreme Court).
With the Constitution, written in 1787 and ratified in 1788, the USA has the oldest written national system of government in the world. At the end of the 20th century, there were around 159 other national constitutions worldwide.
At just 4,400 words, the original US Constitution is the world's shortest written constitution by a major government.
While the US has followed a single form of government for over two centuries, a country like France has had ten different constitutional systems (including five republics, two empires, a monarchy, and two dictatorships). El Salvador, for example, has had 36 constitutions since 1824.
At the end of the Constitutional Convention, George Washington reportedly expressed his conviction that the Constitution would not last more than two decades.
The US Constitution was kept secret during its formative stages and drafted behind closed doors guarded by sentries. The main reason for the Philadelphia meeting was to revise the Articles of Confederation, but the delegates soon came to the conclusion that they needed an entirely new constitution.
In the summer of 1787, a group of 55 men gathered in Philadelphia to establish the framework for the nation's government. Of all the participants at the Constitutional Convention, 39 delegates signed the document and three voted against it.
Out of the 55 delegates, only 42 attended most meetings — but not all. James Madison was the only delegate to attend all sessions, and his journal with detailed notes was kept secret until his death. It was purchased by the government in 1837 for US$30,000 (around $700,000 today) and published in 1840.
Two Founding Fathers did not sign the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson served as US minister in France at the time, while John Adams held the same position in Great Britain.
The oldest of the men who signed the Constitution was Benjamin Franklin, who was 81 years old. Due to his poor health - he suffered from gout and had a stone in his bladder - he needed help to sign the Constitution. It is said that tears ran down his face as he did so.
Jonathan Dayton, a Founding Father and politician from New Jersey, was the youngest signer of the Constitution at the age of 26.
Women couldn’t go to college, vote, or hold office (no matter how wealthy they were), and if they were married, they had no legal autonomy, so they were almost entirely dependent on their husbands — something the law called 'coverture.' It wasn't until the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 1920 that white women in general were granted the right to vote, and black women were granted the right through the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
During the creation of the most important and enduring documents in US history, black people were not recognized as citizens and were denied basic human rights. The 13th Amendment abolishing slavery was not passed until 1865, 78 years after the Constitution was signed. The 15th Amendment opened the way for black men to vote in 1870. However, black women were still excluded from this right.
When the constitution was ratified, it consolidated the institution of slavery through the so-called "Three-Fifths Compromise," which stipulated that those "bound to service for a term of years" and "all other Persons" (meaning slaves) were to be counted as just three-fifths of free men for representation purposes. For example, only three out of every five black men would be counted when calculating a state's population for the purposes of legislative representation and taxation.
The essential elements of the US Constitution — the separation of powers in a bicameral legislature, a presidency, and the Bill of Rights — were later adopted by many countries. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 created a governmental framework that served as a model for people all over the world.
Some original delegates (including the three who dissented) and delegates to the state ratifying conventions expressed concern that the original Constitution lacked a description of individual rights. In 1791, a list of personal liberties and rights was added to the Constitution, along with limitations on the government's power in judicial proceedings and a declaration that all powers not delegated to Congress were reserved to the states or the people. The first 10 amendments became known as the Bill of Rights.
The first national 'Thanksgiving Day' was established on November 26, 1789 by George Washington to 'give thanks' for the Constitution, according to the National Constitution Center. Since then, however, the holiday has been stained with the cruel treatment of Native Americans during the nation's founding. For example, Native Americans were not granted the right to vote until 1924.
Reportedly, more than 11,000 amendments were introduced in Congress, but only 33 were ratified by the states. Of those, 27 have received the necessary state approval to actually be included in the Constitution. With the amendments, the word count stands at 7,591.
These important historical documents also lacked a skillful proofreader. Among the spelling mistakes in the Constitution, "Pensylvania" above the signers' names is probably the funniest.
The Constitution was put on paper by Jacob Shallus, a clerk of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, for a reported US$30 (US$830 today). Benjamin Franklin apparently also wanted the sessions of the Constitutional Convention to open with a prayer, but the delegates refused on the grounds that there was not enough money for a clergyman.
When the Constitution was signed, the population of the US was four million. Today it is over 329 million people.
At that time, Philadelphia was the largest and most modern city in the nation with 40,000 inhabitants, 7,000 street lamps, 33 churches, 10 newspapers, and a university.
Originally, the Senate proposed that the President should be addressed as "His Highness the President of the United States of America and Protector of their Liberties." As the people rejected monarchy, both the House of Representatives and the Senate agreed on the use of "President of the United States."
James Wilson originally proposed electing the president by popular vote, but the delegates agreed instead on a system known as the Electoral College, which combined two main proposals: election of the president by popular vote and election of the president by Congress. Although there have been 500 proposed amendments to change this system, it has remained largely intact.
The election of George Washington as the first president under the Constitution was not as universally supported as commonly believed. Contrary to popular belief, four electors from Virginia and Maryland did not vote. In addition, New York was entitled to eight electoral votes, but the state legislature could not decide how to select the electors, so the state did not officially vote. Thus, the total number of electoral votes in 1789 should have been 81, but only 69 votes were cast.
Interestingly, the word 'democracy' does not appear once in the constitution, which is surprising.
According to reports, the delegates debated six days a week between 10 am and 3 pm, with a 10-day break from mid-May to mid-September during the convention.
Out of the 55 delegates of the convention, 34 were lawyers, eight had personally signed the Declaration of Independence, and nearly half had served in the Revolutionary War. The group consisted of planters, educators, ministers, physicians, financiers, judges, and merchants, but all held public office (39 were former congressmen and eight were present or former governors).
John Tyler was the first vice president to assume the responsibilities of the presidency after the death of William Henry Harrison in 1841, which was actually a violation of the Constitution. Article II, Section 6 stated that "In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President..." This doesn't make it clear whether the vice president becomes the president, or simply takes over their duties.
Yet Tyler and subsequent vice presidents (Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester A. Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Harry S. Truman, and Lyndon B. Johnson) in the same position did so without any authority until the 25th Amendment was passed in 1967, legitimizing the previous unconstitutional adoption.
Sources: (Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History) (National Constitution Center) (Constitution Facts) (Britannica)
Strange facts you didn't know about the US Constitution
The oldest codified constitution in the world has a few bizarre flaws
LIFESTYLE History
When you think of how the United States has changed over the last two centuries, it looks like a completely different place with completely different ideals, social norms, and demographics. What has remained largely unchanged, however, is the basic framework of government that was established back in the 18th century.
The importance of the United States Constitution is still present in the public mind — we often hear politicians call things "unconstitutional" when they want to protect their traditional beliefs from change or defend the founding principles of the nation — and the three branches of government have remained: the legislative branch (Congress), the executive branch (the presidency), and the judicial branch (the Supreme Court).
Yet for something so important to the nation's past, present, and future that has endured for over two centuries, there are some bizarre facts about this historic document that many people don’t know.
Curious? Click through to learn some fascinating and sometimes disturbing facts about the U.S. Constitution.