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● Articles
of Confederation
● Constitution
● Legislative
Branch
● Executive
Branch
● Judicial
Branch
● Checks and Balances
● Bill
of Rights
● Political Parties
Constitution
 In
the course of the Convention, the delegates designed
a new form of government for the United States. The plan for the
government was written in very simple language in a document called
the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution set up a
federal
system with a strong central government. A federal system
is one in which power is shared between a central authority and
its constituent
parts, with some rights reserved
to each. The Constitution also called for the election of a national
leader, or president. It provided
that federal laws would be made only by a Congress made up of representatives
elected by the people. It also provided for a national court system
headed by a Supreme Court.
In
writing the Constitution, the delegates had to deal with two main
fears shared by most Americans.
One
fear was that one person or group, including the majority, might
become too powerful or be able to seize control of the country and
create a tyranny.
To guard
against this possibility, the delegates set up a government
consisting
of three parts, or branches, the executive,
the legislative
and the judicial.
Each branch has powers that the others do not have and each branch
has a way of counteracting and limiting any wrongful
action by another branch.
Another
fear was that the new central government might weaken or take away
the power of the state governments to run their own affairs. To
deal with this the Constitution specified
exactly
what power the central government had and which power was reserved
for the states. The states were allowed to run their
own governments as they wished, provided that their governments
were republican.
The
Constitution opens with a statement, called a Preamble,
which
makes it clear that the government
is set up by "We, the People" and its purpose is to "promote
the general welfare and secure the blessing
of liberty to ourselves and our posterity."
Before
the new government could become a reality, a majority of the citizens
in 9 of the 13 states would have to approve it. Those in favor of
the adoption of the Constitution argued long and hard in speeches
and writing. They finally prevailed, but the states made it clear
that one more change would have to be made as soon as the new government
was established.
Representatives
of various states noted that the Constitution did not have any words
guaranteeing the freedoms or the basic rights and privileges of
citizens. Though the Convention delegates did not think it necessary
to include such explicit
guarantees, many people felt that they needed further written protection
against tyranny. So, a "Bill of
Rights" was added to the Constitution in 1791.
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