The U.S. Constitution: Articles and Amendments
A study guide to the whole Constitution for the FCLE: the Preamble, all seven Articles, and all 27 amendments, with the exact text, what each part means, who proposed it, when it was proposed and ratified, why it was made, and a quiz for each.
About 10 min to read this overview; each Article and Amendment page adds a few minutes plus its quiz
The Preamble
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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.
Preamble to the Constitution of the United States
The Preamble states who creates the government ("We the People," popular sovereignty) and its six goals. It does not grant any powers by itself. See Chapter 5: The Preamble.
How the Constitution was made
- Convention
- May 25 – September 17, 1787, Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall), Philadelphia
- Signed
- September 17, 1787, by 39 of the 55 delegates who attended
- Ratified
- June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the 9th state (Article VII)
- Government began
- March 4, 1789; George Washington took office April 30, 1789
The Articles of Confederation (1781) created a weak national government: Congress could not tax, regulate trade between the states, or enforce its laws, and changing the Articles required all 13 states. After Shays' Rebellion (1786–87), Congress endorsed a convention in Philadelphia to revise the Articles. Every state except Rhode Island sent delegates. Instead of revising the Articles, they wrote a new Constitution.
- May 29, 1787: Edmund Randolph presents the Virginia Plan (representation by population), largely the work of James Madison.
- June 1787: William Paterson offers the New Jersey Plan (equal representation for each state).
- July 16, 1787: the Great Compromise: House by population, equal Senate. The Three-Fifths Compromise settles how enslaved people are counted.
- July–August: a Committee of Detail (Nathaniel Gorham, John Rutledge, Edmund Randolph, James Wilson, Oliver Ellsworth) writes a draft.
- September 8: a Committee of Style is formed; Gouverneur Morris was its chief architect and wrote the final wording, including the Preamble's "We the People of the United States."
- September 17, 1787: 39 delegates sign. Benjamin Franklin's speech urging unity is read aloud by James Wilson. George Mason, Elbridge Gerry, and Edmund Randolph refuse to sign.
- December 7, 1787 – May 29, 1790: state conventions ratify, from Delaware (first) to Rhode Island (last).
Key framers
- George Washington (Virginia): unanimously elected president of the Convention.
- James Madison (Virginia): "Father of the Constitution"; shaped the Virginia Plan, kept detailed notes of the debates, co-wrote the Federalist Papers, and introduced the Bill of Rights in 1789.
- Gouverneur Morris (Pennsylvania): wrote the final text as chief architect of the Committee of Style.
- Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth (Connecticut): associated with the Great Compromise.
- Benjamin Franklin (Pennsylvania): the oldest delegate; urged compromise and unanimity.
- James Wilson (Pennsylvania): a leading voice for popular election; Committee of Detail member.
- Alexander Hamilton (New York): signed the Constitution and wrote most of the Federalist Papers.
- George Mason (Virginia): refused to sign, partly because there was no bill of rights.
More in Chapter 9: Creating the Constitution.
Key principles
Popular sovereignty
Power comes from the people ("We the People").
Limited government
The government has only the powers the Constitution grants; rights limit it.
Separation of powers
Legislative (Art. I), executive (Art. II), and judicial (Art. III) branches.
Checks and balances
Veto and override, Senate confirmation, impeachment, judicial review.
Federalism
Power is divided between national and state governments (10th Amendment; Supremacy Clause).
Republicanism
The people elect representatives to govern; every state is guaranteed a republican government (Art. IV).
Individual rights
The Bill of Rights and later amendments protect liberty and equality.
Rule of law
The Constitution is the supreme law; everyone, including officials, must follow it (Art. VI).
The seven Articles
Article I
The Legislative Branch
Congress: the House and Senate, how laws are made, Congress's powers, and limits on federal and state power.
Article II
The Executive Branch
The President: election by electors, qualifications, oath, powers, duties, and impeachment.
Article III
The Judicial Branch
The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, judges' tenure, federal jurisdiction, jury trials, and treason.
Article IV
Relations Among the States
Full faith and credit, privileges and immunities, extradition, new states, territories, and the guarantee of a republican form of government.
Article V
The Amendment Process
How the Constitution is amended: two ways to propose, two ways to ratify.
Article VI
Debts, Supremacy, and Oaths
Prior debts remain valid; the Constitution and federal law are supreme; officials swear an oath; no religious test.
Article VII
Ratification
The Constitution took effect when 9 of the 13 states ratified by convention.
The 27 amendments
Bill of Rights (1791): First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth
Amendments 11–27: Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth Sixteenth Seventeenth Eighteenth Nineteenth Twentieth Twenty-First Twenty-Second Twenty-Third Twenty-Fourth Twenty-Fifth Twenty-Sixth Twenty-Seventh
| Amendment | Topic | Proposed | Ratified | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition | 1789 | 1791 | No law establishing religion or limiting free exercise, speech, press, assembly, or petition. |
| Second | Right to keep and bear arms | 1789 | 1791 | A well regulated militia being necessary, the people's right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. |
| Third | No quartering of soldiers | 1789 | 1791 | No soldiers may be housed in a private home in peacetime without the owner's consent. |
| Fourth | Searches and seizures; warrants | 1789 | 1791 | No unreasonable searches and seizures; warrants require probable cause, sworn and specific. |
| Fifth | Grand jury, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, due process, takings | 1789 | 1791 | Rights of the accused: grand jury, no double jeopardy, no self-incrimination, due process, just compensation. |
| Sixth | Rights in criminal trials | 1789 | 1791 | Speedy, public jury trial; notice of charges; confront witnesses; compulsory process; assistance of counsel. |
| Seventh | Jury trial in civil cases | 1789 | 1791 | Right to a jury in federal civil suits over $20; facts found by a jury are not re-examined except under common law rules. |
| Eighth | No excessive bail or fines; no cruel and unusual punishment | 1789 | 1791 | No excessive bail, no excessive fines, no cruel and unusual punishments. |
| Ninth | Rights retained by the people | 1789 | 1791 | Listing some rights does not deny other rights the people keep. |
| Tenth | Powers reserved to the states and the people | 1789 | 1791 | Powers not delegated to the federal government nor prohibited to the states are reserved to the states or the people. |
| Eleventh | Suits against states | 1794 | 1795 | Federal courts cannot hear suits against a state by citizens of another state or a foreign country. |
| Twelfth | Separate electoral votes for President and Vice President | 1803 | 1804 | Electors cast separate ballots for President and Vice President. |
| Thirteenth | Abolition of slavery | 1865 | 1865 | Slavery and involuntary servitude are abolished, except as punishment for a crime. |
| Fourteenth | Citizenship, due process, and equal protection | 1866 | 1868 | Birthright citizenship; no state may deny due process or equal protection. |
| Fifteenth | Voting rights regardless of race | 1869 | 1870 | The vote cannot be denied because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. |
| Sixteenth | Federal income tax | 1909 | 1913 | Congress may tax incomes without dividing the tax among the states by population. |
| Seventeenth | Direct election of senators | 1912 | 1913 | Senators are elected directly by the people of each state. |
| Eighteenth | Prohibition of alcohol | 1917 | 1919 | Banned making, selling, or transporting intoxicating liquors. Repealed by the 21st. |
| Nineteenth | Women's suffrage | 1919 | 1920 | The vote cannot be denied because of sex. |
| Twentieth | "Lame Duck" Amendment; new term dates | 1932 | 1933 | Presidential terms begin January 20 and congressional terms January 3; sets succession if the President-elect dies. |
| Twenty-First | Repeal of Prohibition | 1933 | 1933 | Repealed the 18th Amendment; states may control alcohol. |
| Twenty-Second | Presidential term limits | 1947 | 1951 | No one may be elected President more than twice. |
| Twenty-Third | Electoral votes for Washington, D.C. | 1960 | 1961 | D.C. gets presidential electors, no more than the least populous state (3). |
| Twenty-Fourth | Poll taxes banned in federal elections | 1962 | 1964 | No poll tax may be required to vote in federal elections. |
| Twenty-Fifth | Presidential succession and disability | 1965 | 1967 | Vice President becomes President; filling a VP vacancy; temporary transfer of power when the President is unable to serve. |
| Twenty-Sixth | Voting age 18 | 1971 | 1971 | The vote cannot be denied to citizens 18 or older because of age. |
| Twenty-Seventh | Congressional pay changes delayed | 1789 | 1992 | A change in congressional pay cannot take effect until after the next House election. |
"Proposed" is the year Congress approved the amendment and sent it to the states; "Ratified" is the year three-fourths of the states had approved it. Each amendment page has the exact dates.
A note on dates: "signed" vs. "ratified"
The Constitution was signed by the delegates on September 17, 1787 and took effect after it was ratified by nine states (New Hampshire, June 21, 1788).
Amendments are not signed. Under Article V, Congress proposes an amendment by a two-thirds vote of both houses (or a convention called by two-thirds of the states, which has never happened), and it becomes part of the Constitution when three-fourths of the states ratify it. The President has no formal role. Abraham Lincoln did sign the 13th Amendment's joint resolution in 1865, but only as a symbolic gesture. That is why each amendment page lists "Proposed by Congress" and "Ratified" dates rather than a signing date.
Sources: National Archives: Constitution transcript, Bill of Rights transcript, Amendments 11–27, and the National Archives' history of the Constitution; Constitution Annotated (Congress.gov).