Citizenship in the United States of America
Troop 721 Milford, CT - United States Constitution
The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. It provides the
framework for the organization of the United States Government. The document defines the three main
branches of the government: The legislative branch with a bicameral Congress, an executive branch led
by the President, and a judicial branch headed Supreme Court. Besides providing for the organization
of these branches, the Constitution carefully outlines which powers each branch may exercise. It also
reserves numerous rights for the individual states, thereby establishing the United States' federal
system of government.
The United States Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later ratified by conventions in each state in the name of "The
People"; it has since been amended twenty-seven times, the first ten amendments being known as the
Bill of Rights. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was actually the first constitution of
the United States of America. The U.S. Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation as the
governing document for the United States, and transformed the constitutional basis of government
from confederation to federation, also making it the world's oldest federal constitution. The
Constitution has a central place in United States law and political culture. The handwritten, or
"engrossed", original document is on display at the National Archives and Records Administration in
Washington, D.C.