The United States Constitution was written between May and September 1787 by 74 delegates from 12 of the 13 original states who met in Philadelphia. It was drafted to address weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation, such as the lack of a strong central government. The Constitution established a system of checks and balances to distribute power between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches based on principles from political philosophers like Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. While not perfect, the Constitution remains relevant as the foundation of American law and governance over 200 years later.

1. The United States Constitution
By: Sarah Shepherd

2. When was the Constitution Written?
• The Constitution was written between May 25th and
September 17th, 1787.
• The Framers met 89 out of 116 days during that time.
• On May 25th, George Washington was unanimously
elected as the first president
• On May 28th, the second session, rules were established for
procedure of creating the constitution.
• On September 17th, the Constitution was signed by 39 men

3. Who Created the Constitution?
• 74 delegates who were chosen from 12 out of 13 of the states
(only 55 showed up though)
• Many had fought in the Revolution
• 39 were previous members of the Continental Congress,
Congress of the Confederation, or both.
• 8 served in constitutional conventions in their own States.
• 7 had been State governors
• 8 had signed the Declaration of Independence
• 31 had gone to college (at the time there were very few
colleges)
• 2 were future presidents and 1 was a future vice president
• 17 served for the Senate and 11 served for the House of
Representatives
• Average age of the men was 42; Benjamin Franklin was the
oldest at 81 years old

4. Why was the Constitution written?
• The articles created a weak government
• Government couldn’t handle the problems of the nation
• Those most threatened by it took the initiative to fix the
problem (such as large property owners, merchants,
traders, etc.)

5. What events led to its creation?
• After the Revolutionary War, problems started to
occur in effect of the weakness of the Articles of
Confederation
• The states stopped supporting the central
government
• Some made agreements with foreign governments
without approval of the National Government
• The states would put taxes on each others goods or
would ban some trade of some goods
• Economic instability caused violence to break out,
one incident was so bad that the Springfield,
Massachusetts Supreme Court was closed

6. Where was it written?
Philadelphia is where the meetings
between May 25th, 1787 and September
17th, 1787.

7. What was the Constitution modeled after?
• William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England
• Baron de Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws
• Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Social Contract
• John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government

8. What problems did the Constitution solve?
It solved the issues of the Articles of Confederation that
“established ‘a firm league of friendship’”.
The government didn’t have enough power, and
the Constitution gave the government more but
balanced power over America.

9. What are its limitations?
The government is not all-powerful. It only has
as much power as the citizens give to it.
The government is never above the law.
The government must obey the law.

10. How would I improve the
Constitution?
I honestly wouldn’t change anything
about the Constitution.
I think that the Constitution
equals out all of the power of
government very well and it
shouldn’t be changed in any way.

11. Is it still relevant?
The Constitution is still very relevant.
Though we’ve progressed as a nation, the very
laws that started us as a strong nation should
always be kept, in my opinion.

12. Credits
http://www.regent.edu/general/library/about_the_library/news_publications/2007_08.cfm -
Title Page background picture
Magruder’s American Government
All the information on this power point.