The US Constitution
Also known as: Constitution of the United States
The US Constitution is the supreme law of the United States, drafted at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and ratified in 1788. It established the federal government's structure of three branches, a system of checks and balances, and the division of power between the national government and the states.
The US Constitution is the founding legal document of the United States government. Drafted at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and ratified by the states in 1788, it replaced the Articles of Confederation, whose weak central government had proven unable to tax, regulate commerce, or respond effectively to crises such as Shays' Rebellion.
The document rests on several core principles. Separation of powers divides the federal government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches, while checks and balances gives each branch tools to restrain the others — the president can veto legislation, Congress can override vetoes and impeach officials, and courts can strike down acts of the other branches through judicial review, a power the Constitution does not spell out but that the Supreme Court established in Marbury v. Madison (1803). Federalism divides authority between the national government and the states, and popular sovereignty grounds all of it in the consent of the governed.
Ratification was contested. Federalists, arguing through essays now known as the Federalist Papers, supported the stronger national government; Anti-Federalists feared centralized power and demanded explicit protections for individual liberty. The compromise that secured ratification produced the Bill of Rights — the first ten amendments, added in 1791. Key convention bargains included the Great Compromise (a bicameral Congress balancing state equality and population) and the Three-Fifths Compromise on counting enslaved people for representation.
The Constitution is central to both the AP US History and AP US Government exams. APUSH tests the failures of the Articles of Confederation, the convention's compromises, and the ratification debates, while AP Government tests the document's structure, the amendment process, the Bill of Rights, and the formal and informal powers it grants each branch.
Key takeaways
- The Constitution was drafted in 1787, ratified in 1788, and replaced the Articles of Confederation.
- It established separation of powers among three branches, checks and balances, and federalism.
- The Federalist–Anti-Federalist ratification debate led to the Bill of Rights, added in 1791.
- Key compromises included the Great Compromise and the Three-Fifths Compromise.
- AP US History tests its origins and ratification; AP US Government tests its structure and powers.