AreWe Finished Forming a NewGovernment? Not Quite!
Many delegates were concerned that the new
Constitution did not address the rights and freedoms
of its citizens. Several state constitutions, including
Pennsylvania, guaranteed the rights of its citizens
first before a frame of government was spelled out.
However, the framers of the U.S. Constitution felt it
more important to first obtain a workable
government. Delegates reasoned that another
document could be added later which guaranteed the
rights and freedoms of citizens.
Before a slate of rights could be written, it would
be necessary for the new U.S. Constitution to be
approved, or
ratified
, by nine of the states. This
process turned out to be a lengthy struggle. It took
10months for nine of the states to approve of the
Constitution, and nearly three years before all 13
states ratified the plan. Delaware was the first state
to ratify the Constitution and Pennsylvania became
the second state. The new government was in effect
over one year before the last state, Rhode Island,
approved the Constitution inMay, 1790.
The writers of our Constitution knew that their
country would grow and change. They were wise to
recognize that theremust be amechanismby which
the Constitution could be changed. They developed
processes that would allow the Constitution to be
changed over the years. These changes to the
Constitution are known as
amendments
.
Amendments allow the national government to add
or delete laws from the Constitution.
In 1789, twelve amendments to our Constitution
were proposed at the First Congress of the United
States. However, the first two, which dealt with the
structure of government, were not accepted. The
other 10 amendments guaranteed the rights and
freedoms for our country’s citizens. They were
approved by the states in 1791 and became known
as the
Bill of Rights
. Since that year, only 17more
amendments have been added to our Constitution.
When a new amendment is proposed and passed by
two-thirds of both houses of Congress, it must be
sent to each state for its approval or rejection. Three-
fourths of our statesmust approve an amendment
before it becomes part of our national Constitution.
L
ET
’
S
R
EVIEW
1. What were the Articles of Confederation?
2. List at least three weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation.
3. What was the original purpose for holding the
Constitutional Convention of 1787?
4. In terms of location and participants, describe
Pennsylvania’s role in drafting the newConstitution.
5. Regarding the disagreement about equal representation
among the states, what compromise was offered by
Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth?
6. What mechanismwas provided by the framers for
changing the Constitution?
7. What was themain argument among the states against
ratifying the Constitution?
8. What document was added to the Constitution in 1791?
9. What is the importance of this document to the
American way of life?
10. In order for an amendment to become part of the U.S.
Constitution, howmany statesmust approve the
amendment? (Round up this number.)
A NewNation Emerges
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