The United States Constitution

1. The United States Constitution

5. We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

6. The Constitutional Convention of May 1787 was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where delegates from 12 of the 13 states were present. The state of Rhode Island refused to send a delegate because it was afraid of losing its states' rights. The delegates worked for 4 months behind closed doors of the State House to draft a new document known later as the "Constitution."

8. The writers of our Constitution wanted to make sure that the new nation and its citizens would be free and independent. They wanted to make sure that the government of the United States would protect the people from a government that was too powerful and from the autocratic rule of kings. They didn't want the wishes of the people to be denied by any part of government. The writers of the Constitution planned a very special kind of government and put their plan in writing.

9. Once the debate ended, Governor Morris of New Jersey put the Constitution in its final form. He competed the task of hand-writing 4,300 words in two days!

10. The Constitutional Convention met for 4 months. The 55 delegates were seldom all together at once because the weather was bad and travel was difficult. About 35 delegates were present during the process of writing the Constitution.

11. The Continental Congress received the proposed Constitution on September 20. It then voted to send the document to the state legislatures for ratification.

12. Very few things last long without change. Nothing is perfect. The writers of the Constitution realized this when they presented the first twelve amendments to the Constitution.

13. The Constitution is organized into three parts: • Preamble: Describes the purpose of the document and government. • Articles: Establish how the government is structured and how the Constitution can be changed. There are seven articles. • Amendments: Changes to the Constitution; the first ten are called the Bill of Rights.

14. Independance Hall

15. Independence Hall is where both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were created.

16. Those who signed the Constitution

17. Alexander Hamilton

18. George Washington

19. Thomas Jefferson

20. Benjamin Franklin

21. John Hancock

22. The Signers of the U. S. Constitution PennsylvaniaBenjamin FranklinThomas MifflinRobert MorrisGeorge ClymerThomas FitzSimonsJared IngersollGouverneur MorrisJames Wilson DelawareGeorge ReadGunning Bedford, Jr.John DickinsonRichard BassettJacob BroomMarylandJames McHenry Daniel Carroll Dan of St. Thomas Jenifer New HampshireJohn LangdonNicholas GilmanMassachusettsRufus KingNathaniel GorhamConnecticutRoger ShermanWilliam Samuel JohnsonNew YorkAlexander HamiltonNew JerseyWilliam LivingstonDavid BrearleyWilliam PatersonJonathan Dayton VirginiaJohn BlairJames Madison, Jr.George WashingtonNorth CarolinaWilliam BlountRichard Dobbs SpaightHugh WilliamsonSouth CarolinaJohn RutledgeCharles Cotesworth PinckneyCharles PinckneyPierce ButlerGeorgiaWilliam FewAbraham Baldwin http://www.colonialhall.com/biousc.php

23. More Web-sites http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/newtheme.html http://bensguide.gpo.gov/ http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/special_events/constitution_day/ http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/constitution/facts.html http://congressforkids.net/Constitution_index.htm http://www.constitutioncenter.org/explore/ForKids/index.shtml