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The foundation of government

“We the people.” These three words form the beginning of one of the most important documents in our country’s history, the U.S. Constitution.

September 17 marks Constitution Day, commemorating the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution by 39 men on Sept. 17, 1787. While the Declaration of Independence was adopted in July of 1776, it was the U.S. Constitution that set forth the supreme laws of these United States and recognized all who were born in the country or by naturalization as citizens, laying the groundwork of what our country was to be become.

Though the document signed 231 years ago became our foundation, it certainly wasn’t the first form of government we had. From 1774 to 1781, the Continental Congress acted as a provisional government for the country and the Second Continental Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union from 1776-77, with its ratification by the original 13 states coming in early 1781.

However, the articles, while helping to establish the United States as a separate country and government from Great Britain, had its own problems as it failed to bring unity among the various states and instead led to unrest. In February of 1871, it was decided to call a convention of state delegates to propose a plan of government, and from that convention the Constitution was conceived.

That’s not to say our Constitution has been an ever-perfect document. It originally did not designate who was eligible to vote, allowing state to determine. Most state governments allowed only white male adult property owners the vote. It wasn’t until the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920 that the Constitution prohibited anyone from being denied a vote based on gender.

The Constitution also did not abolish slavery until the Reconstruction Amendments of 1865-70, following the Civil War. There are even amendments proposed as far back as 1789 that have yet to be ratified, and many — most notably the Second — that face scrutiny on an almost daily basis.

The U.S. Constitution certainly has a colorful history, and though its foundations is strongly rooted in the 1700s, its present and future is something that will be a subject of debate, consideration and even change.

 

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