History of the US Constitution: Difference between revisions
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[https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/teach-truth-on-constitution-day/ by ZINN EDUCATION PROJECT] | [https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/teach-truth-on-constitution-day/ by ZINN EDUCATION PROJECT] | ||
Each September, schools across the country celebrate Constitution Day — students create posters praising the document, watch patriotic videos, or recite the Preamble — rather than engage in critical inquiry. These rituals present the Constitution as a sacred text, not a document created and amended through struggle. From liberal to conservative circles, Constitution Day is too often framed as a celebration of “American exceptionalism” rather than an invitation to think critically about the rights the Constitution guarantees — and the ones it doesn’t. | Each September, schools across the country celebrate Constitution Day — students create posters praising the document, watch patriotic videos, or recite the Preamble — rather than engage in critical inquiry. These rituals present the Constitution as a sacred text, not a document created and amended through struggle. From liberal to conservative circles, Constitution Day is too often framed as a celebration of “American exceptionalism” rather than an invitation to think critically about the rights the Constitution guarantees — and the ones it doesn’t. | ||
=====Hamilton and the U.S. Constitution===== | |||
[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/duel-hamilton-and-us-constitution/ by PBS NEWS] | |||
In May 1787, the democratic government that had emerged from the American Revolution was only eight years old. But already, it threatened to crumble. Although the Articles of Confederation had organized the 13 states into a loose union, the Articles proved inadequate to the task of effectively governing that union. | |||
Revision as of 15:51, 27 November 2025
History of the United States Constitution
The United States Constitution has served as the supreme law of the United States since taking effect in 1789. The document was written at the 1787 Philadelphia Convention and was ratified through a series of state conventions held in 1787 and 1788. Since 1789, the Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times; particularly important amendments include the ten amendments of the United States Bill of Rights, the three Reconstruction Amendments, and the Nineteenth Amendment.
The Constitution grew out of efforts to reform the Articles of Confederation, an earlier constitution which provided for a loose alliance of states with a weak central government. From May 1787 through September 1787, delegates from twelve of the thirteen states convened in Philadelphia, where they wrote a new constitution. Two alternative plans were developed at the convention. The nationalist majority, soon to be called "Federalists", put forth the Virginia Plan, a consolidated government based on proportional representation[a] among the states by population. The "old patriots", later called "Anti-Federalists", advocated the New Jersey Plan, a purely federal proposal, based on providing each state with equal representation. The Connecticut Compromise allowed for both plans to work together. Other controversies developed regarding slavery and a Bill of Rights in the original document.
Historian Jill Lepore explores the Constitution and its interpretations in ‘We the People’
by Geoff Bennett 19/9/25 PBS NEWS
Originalism is often countered by the idea that the Constitution is a living, breathing document meant to be interpreted and changed along with the times. Jill Lepore is a historian at Harvard University and author of the new book, “We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution.” Geoff Bennett sat down with Lepore for our series, On Democracy.
Introduction
In the years following World War I, America was gripped by the fear that the Communist Revolution that had taken place in Russia would spread to the United States. As is often the case when fear outweighs rational debate, civil liberties paid the price. In November 1919 and January 1920, in what notoriously became known as the “Palmer Raids,” Attorney General Mitchell Palmer began rounding up and deporting so-called radicals. Thousands of people were arrested without warrants and without regard to constitutional protections against unlawful search and seizure. Those arrested were brutally treated and held in horrible conditions.
The Bill of Rights: A Brief History
In the summer of 1787, delegates from the 13 states convened in Philadelphia and drafted a remarkable blueprint for self-government -- the Constitution of the United States. The first draft set up a system of checks and balances that included a strong executive branch, a representative legislature and a federal judiciary.
Defend the rights of all people nationwide
The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union — beyond one person, party, or side. Our mission is to realize this promise of the United States Constitution for all and expand the reach of its guarantees.
Race, Class, and the Constitutional Convention
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 2025. 36 pages.
This is a unit with three lessons. The first invites students to think critically about key issues that confronted the framers of the Constitution — examining the perspectives not only of the elites attending the actual Constitutional Convention, but also of enslaved African Americans, poor white farmers, and white workers.
We the Elites: Why the U.S. Constitution Serves the Few
This collection of essays exposes the U.S. Constitution for what it really is — a rulebook to protect capitalism for the elites.
The Federalist and the Republican Party
By the time Alexander Hamilton died on the dueling grounds of Weehawken, New Jersey, the power of the Federalist Party was in terminal decline. Federalism was born in 1787, when Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison wrote 85 essays collectively known as the Federalist papers. These eloquent political documents encouraged Americans to adopt the newly-written Constitution and its stronger central government.
Why does the U.S. have presidential term limits? The history of the 22nd Amendment
This tradition was established by the decisions of early presidents such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison not to seek a third term. This tradition was later adopted by other presidents.
Sept. 17, 1787: U.S. Constitution Signed
The U.S. Constitution endorsed slavery and favored the interests of the owning classes. What kind of Constitution would have resulted from founders who were representative of the entire country?
Teach Truth on Constitution Day
Each September, schools across the country celebrate Constitution Day — students create posters praising the document, watch patriotic videos, or recite the Preamble — rather than engage in critical inquiry. These rituals present the Constitution as a sacred text, not a document created and amended through struggle. From liberal to conservative circles, Constitution Day is too often framed as a celebration of “American exceptionalism” rather than an invitation to think critically about the rights the Constitution guarantees — and the ones it doesn’t.
Hamilton and the U.S. Constitution
In May 1787, the democratic government that had emerged from the American Revolution was only eight years old. But already, it threatened to crumble. Although the Articles of Confederation had organized the 13 states into a loose union, the Articles proved inadequate to the task of effectively governing that union.
