B
Bob B
Guest
the people's good is the highest law!
What part of the constitution represents the people's good?
What part of the constitution represents the people's good?
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Z
zapleaf
Guest
You should add were you got that awnser at.
J
James S
Guest
Basically, the Constitution is the highest law in the United States. All other laws come from the Constitution in some way. The Constitution also provides a framework for the government of the United States. It creates things like the Presidency, the Congress, and the Supreme Court. Each state has its own constitution that is the highest law for the state - but even then, the United States Constitution is higher.
Over time, some things have been added to the Constitution. Called "amendments," these add-ons list some of the rights of the people. By listing these rights, they are made special, and it is illegal for the government to violate those rights. As of 2006, there are 27 amendments to the Constitution. Not all of them involve rights, but many do. The first ten amendments, in particular, have the special name of the Bill of Rights. To start, the Constitution is a document written by a group of men in 1787. Yes, it is over 200 years old. We actually have old copies of the document they created. The master copies are stored at the National Archives in Washington D.C. In 2003, the Rotunda, where the Constitution is displayed, was rebuilt, and anyone can go and see the actual Constitution. From May to September 1787, the men, known as the Framers, met in Philadelphia and discussed what should be in the Constitution. The United States was a brand new country at the time, and had a government that many felt was not as good as it could be. They were meeting to come up with a new way of running the country. Some of the people at this meeting, called the Convention, are famous to us today, including James Madison, Ben Franklin, and George Washington. The men came from all over the country, which at the time was made up of only 13 states. The different states had different ideas of what the new government should do, and they had many debates and discussions to come up with a plan that everyone could agree with. It is said that the Constitution was born in compromise, because only by compromising could all the disagreements be resolved. Ben Franklin said the he was not sure if the plan was perfect, but that it was probably as perfect as it could be. After the Convention ended, the Constitution had to be approved by the 13 states. The Constitution actually said that only nine states had to agree to the Constitution, but everyone wanted all of the states to agree. Two states, North Carolina and Rhode Island, took a long time to decide to agree to the Constitution, but in the end, they did. When the Constitution was accepted by these first nine states, we say that it was "ratified." New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify. One of the biggest reasons a lot of people opposed the Constitution was because it lacked a bill of rights. A bill of rights is a list of rights that belong to the people that the government is not allowed to break. Some of these rights might sound familiar: the right of free speech, the right to practice your own religion, and the right to be silent if the police accuse you of a crime. The original Constitution had no bill of rights. Many of the Framers did not think it was necessary. But to get the Constitution to pass in some of the states, promises were made to add a bill of rights once the new government was up and running. After the new government started to meet, Congress proposed the Bill of Rights. A list of twelve changes was sent to the states, and a few years later, in 1791, ten of those changes were accepted by enough of the states that they were added to the Constitution. These ten changes are called the "Bill of Rights." When the United States first created the Constitution, most of the black people in America were actually slaves. A slave is someone who is owned by someone else. Today, there are no legal slaves in America, but legal slavery was very common in 1787. As time went by, more and more people thought that slavery was wrong. Most of the people who wanted to end slavery, called abolitionists, were from the states in the north. Most of the people who wanted to keep slavery were from the states in the south. The Southern states wanted to keep slavery because a lot of their economy, how they made money and did business, was tied up with slaves. Slaves were worth money, and slaves picked their crops, like cotton and tobacco. The people in the North said that ending slavery was an important step for the nation to take. The people of the South were afraid of losing their economy, and saw the ability to have slavery as an important issue for each state to decide on its own. When President Lincoln was elected, the South got very angry. His election was seen as a strike against slavery because Lincoln had said he didn't like slavery. Most of the Southern states decided to break away from the United States to create their own country, the Confederate States of America. The USA did not agree that the states of the CSA could break away. The Civil War followed. The USA won that war
Over time, some things have been added to the Constitution. Called "amendments," these add-ons list some of the rights of the people. By listing these rights, they are made special, and it is illegal for the government to violate those rights. As of 2006, there are 27 amendments to the Constitution. Not all of them involve rights, but many do. The first ten amendments, in particular, have the special name of the Bill of Rights. To start, the Constitution is a document written by a group of men in 1787. Yes, it is over 200 years old. We actually have old copies of the document they created. The master copies are stored at the National Archives in Washington D.C. In 2003, the Rotunda, where the Constitution is displayed, was rebuilt, and anyone can go and see the actual Constitution. From May to September 1787, the men, known as the Framers, met in Philadelphia and discussed what should be in the Constitution. The United States was a brand new country at the time, and had a government that many felt was not as good as it could be. They were meeting to come up with a new way of running the country. Some of the people at this meeting, called the Convention, are famous to us today, including James Madison, Ben Franklin, and George Washington. The men came from all over the country, which at the time was made up of only 13 states. The different states had different ideas of what the new government should do, and they had many debates and discussions to come up with a plan that everyone could agree with. It is said that the Constitution was born in compromise, because only by compromising could all the disagreements be resolved. Ben Franklin said the he was not sure if the plan was perfect, but that it was probably as perfect as it could be. After the Convention ended, the Constitution had to be approved by the 13 states. The Constitution actually said that only nine states had to agree to the Constitution, but everyone wanted all of the states to agree. Two states, North Carolina and Rhode Island, took a long time to decide to agree to the Constitution, but in the end, they did. When the Constitution was accepted by these first nine states, we say that it was "ratified." New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify. One of the biggest reasons a lot of people opposed the Constitution was because it lacked a bill of rights. A bill of rights is a list of rights that belong to the people that the government is not allowed to break. Some of these rights might sound familiar: the right of free speech, the right to practice your own religion, and the right to be silent if the police accuse you of a crime. The original Constitution had no bill of rights. Many of the Framers did not think it was necessary. But to get the Constitution to pass in some of the states, promises were made to add a bill of rights once the new government was up and running. After the new government started to meet, Congress proposed the Bill of Rights. A list of twelve changes was sent to the states, and a few years later, in 1791, ten of those changes were accepted by enough of the states that they were added to the Constitution. These ten changes are called the "Bill of Rights." When the United States first created the Constitution, most of the black people in America were actually slaves. A slave is someone who is owned by someone else. Today, there are no legal slaves in America, but legal slavery was very common in 1787. As time went by, more and more people thought that slavery was wrong. Most of the people who wanted to end slavery, called abolitionists, were from the states in the north. Most of the people who wanted to keep slavery were from the states in the south. The Southern states wanted to keep slavery because a lot of their economy, how they made money and did business, was tied up with slaves. Slaves were worth money, and slaves picked their crops, like cotton and tobacco. The people in the North said that ending slavery was an important step for the nation to take. The people of the South were afraid of losing their economy, and saw the ability to have slavery as an important issue for each state to decide on its own. When President Lincoln was elected, the South got very angry. His election was seen as a strike against slavery because Lincoln had said he didn't like slavery. Most of the Southern states decided to break away from the United States to create their own country, the Confederate States of America. The USA did not agree that the states of the CSA could break away. The Civil War followed. The USA won that war