Founding Documents

United States Constitution

Figure 1 Signing of the Constitution, September 17, 1787

Content Statement #6

The U.S. Constitution established the foundations of the American nation and the relationship between the people and their government.

Content Elaboration

The U.S. Constitution strengthened the structure of the national government by:

• establishing three separate branches;

• including the principle of federalism that delineated the distribution of powers between the national government and the states;

• instituting the ability to pass legislation and amend the Constitution; and

• giving the ability to address the issues facing the nation (e.g., powers to levy taxes, raise armies, and regulate commerce) to Congress.

The U.S. Constitution defined the relationship between the people and their government by:

• limiting government to protect individual and civil liberties;

• ensuring people have a role in electing government representatives; and

• guaranteeing power from the consent of the people.

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Figure 2 Three Branches of Government that share the responsibility of running the nation.

Three Branches of Government
The U.S. Constitution divides the U.S. government into three branches with different roles.		The three branches were created to prevent any one person or group from controlling the government.		The three branches of the U.S. government are connected and have shared responsibilities.
Legislative	U.S. Congress		the Senate and the House of Representatives		Congress is to write and pass bills that become laws
Executive	president, the vice president, and the other people who work directly with them		carrying out laws and coming up with a spending plan for the country		make treaties, or agreements, with other countries
Judicial	national court system		Supreme Court		makes decisions about the meaning of law

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Figure 3 Principles of the Constitution

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Figure 4 Facts of the Constitution