A History of the Constitutional Changes in the United States Government

The United States Constitution was written in 1787 and ratified by nine out of the original 13 states. Compared to the rest of the world, it is the longest surviving constitution but over time, it has changed to become what we now know. The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution in hopes that it would change over time as society and its relations with other countries changed. This flexibility has allowed for new amendments, frameworks, and laws to be applied so the Constitution can be applied to modern times.

Edmund Randolph, a delegate for Virginia, once said that the goal of the Constitution was to “insert essential principles only, lest the operations of government should be clogged by rendering those provisions permanent and unalterable, which ought to be accommodated to times and events.” In order to understand the reasons behind the creation of the original Constitution and how it has changed over time, it is important to know how the Constitution was created and the events that occurred for the Founding Fathers to draft it.

How the Constitution was Created

Before the Constitution, the United States was governed by the Articles of Confederation. On July 12th of 1776, a committee that consisted of one member from each colony wrote the Articles of Confederation. Its main goal was to establish “the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain'' (U.S. Department of State). The Articles of Confederation had many weaknesses that prevented the government from passing laws. One of these weaknesses was the idea of the supermajority. A supermajority is a requirement for votes that has to be above 50%. We can see the use of a supermajority with the Filibuster in the Senate or in the Constitution that requires two-thirds of votes from both chambers in Congress to propose a constitutional amendment. In the Articles of Confederation, that meant nine out of the 13 states had to vote in favor, but this made lawmaking difficult as each state had its own individualistic preferences causing gridlock.

James Madison saw the need for a solution to these weaknesses in their government that was causing political and economic dilemmas. In the Articles of Confederation, the central government was weak giving individual states more power. Some attributes of these articles include requesting money from the state, entering treaties, establishing Post Offices, regulating the value of the currency, settling disputes among the states and landowners, power to determine war and peace, etc. All of the aforementioned measures were geared toward enabling the United States to engage in war and maintain foreign relations, but it was not geared toward effective domestic governance. Its inability to tax caused problems with funding and the lack of separation of powers created an unstable government. In 1786, Daniel Shay led a rebellion with a group of farmers that raised concerns over possible anarchy. In this weakened state, “[George] Washington wrote to Madison: ‘Wisdom and good examples are necessary at this time to rescue the political machine from the impending storm” (National Archives). Madison understood there needed to be a change in the governmental frameworks because he believed a strong central government would provide much-needed order and stability.

The creation of the United States Constitution was not so simple. Several plans like the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan were debated but later rejected. On August 6, 1787, the convention finally accepted the first draft of the Constitution. This controversial document had two sides. The Anti-Federalists consisted of people that opposed the Constitution while the Federalists were in favor. In order to persuade people to ratify the Constitution, “the Federalist Papers were written and published to urge New Yorkers to ratify the proposed United States Constitution, which was drafted in Philadelphia” (Library of Congress).

According to the National Archives, Hamilton believed that the majority of the people in New York opposed the constitution, however, the promise of amendments and the efforts of Madison and Hamilton in their own states ensured a win for the Federalists. While the drafting of the original Constitution was a difficult journey, nine out of the 13 states finally voted in favor.

Constitutional Changes

The Constitution has changed greatly over the years. The Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791, but according to Sarah Pruitt, a writer for History.com, “Congress has passed just 23 additional amendments to the Constitution, and the states have ratified only 17 of them” (Pruitt).

While the ratification of the Constitution was the beginning of the frameworks of the United States government, it was still criticized. One of the earliest criticisms was the lack of protection of individual rights. In order to combat these criticisms, James Madison drafted the Bill of Rights which included a list of rights for citizens that could not be infringed by the federal government. These rights include freedom of speech and press, religion, the right to a trial by jury, and many more. While these rights were given to citizens, they mostly applied to White men. After the Civil War, “three ‘Reconstruction Amendments’ sought to more fully realize the founders’ ideal of all men being created equal” (Pruitt). The 13th Amendment abolished slavery but it was the 14th Amendment that gave African Americans the status of citizens. The 15th Amendment gave voting rights to Black men and in 1920, the 19th Amendment gave voting rights to all American women.

In the original Constitution, the process of electing the President, Vice President, and senators was different. The Constitution stated that the runner-up in the presidential election would become the vice-president became a problem when Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received the same number of electoral votes. The 12th Amendment was then drafted and ratified which changed this process and made the elections for president and vice-president to be separate. The process for electing the U.S. Senators was also changed giving American citizens the right to elect senators rather than state legislatures.

The role of the Judicial Branch was left relatively vague in the Constitution compared to the Legislative and Executive branches. In 1803, the legal case of Marbury v. Madison “strengthened the federal judiciary by establishing for it the power of judicial review, by which the federal courts could declare legislation, as well as executive and administrative actions, inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution and therefore null and void” (Britannica). John Marshall was a key player in this case where he wrote that “the powers of the legislature are defined and limited; and that those limits may not be mistaken or forgotten, the constitution is written”. While the idea of the Supreme Court having the power to overrule decisions in Congress predated Marbury v. Madison, it was now established in law giving the Judicial Branch the ability to check the Legislative Branch.

One of the biggest problems with the Articles of Confederation was the imbalance of powers given to individual states and the central government. However, the balance of power changed over the years giving the federal government a more dominant role in the United States. The decision of the Supreme Court in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland (1823) made federalism law so the federal government could take actions that were necessary to meet the needs of the nation. One of these actions was the 16th Amendment in 1913 which gave the government the power to collect income tax. The power of the federal government and Judicial branch were not the only ones expanding. The 22nd Amendment created a two-term limit in the presidential office as many earlier presidents like Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt claimed more powers for themselves.

The flexibility of the United States Constitution has given citizens, lawmakers, and the three branches to change, adapt, and ratify constitutional amendments to fit the standard of society. As time goes on, the ability to change the constitution allows the United States to fulfill the original purpose that the Founding Fathers had when drafting the constitution.

Want to Learn More, Here is How:

The process of changing the constitution is difficult and long but it is always important to understand the history behind each change and how the United States government works to

Give future generations the ability to adapt the constitution that best fits their needs.

For more reading in order to fully understand the history of the United States and its important documents, here are some articles you can read on the National Archives:

• Constitution of the United States—A History | National Archives

• https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/amendments-11-27

• https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration

• https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights

Works Cited

“Articles of Confederation.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1776-1783/articles.

“Constitution of the United States-A History.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/more-perfect-union.

“Federalist Papers: Primary Documents in American History: Full Text of the Federalist Papers.” Research Guides, https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-papers/full-text#:~:text=The%20Federalist%20Papers%20were%20written,in%20the%20summer%20of%201787.

Pruitt, Sarah. “How the U.S. Constitution Has Changed and Expanded since 1787.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 16 Sept. 2020, https://www.history.com/news/constitution-amendments-changes.

History.com Editors. “Marbury v. Madison.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2 Dec. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/united-states-constitution/marbury-v-madison.

“Marbury v. Madison.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/event/Marbury-v-Madison.