A constitution is the legal structure of our political system, establishing governmental bodies , determining how their members are selected , and prescribing the rules by which they make their decisions .
The nationÆs founders , fifty-five men , met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to write a new constitution and to form a new government. George Washington was elected chairman of the convention.The founders were all very well-educated. Over half the delegates had collage degrees, which was rare in the North American continent at that time.
They also had experience in governing . More than forty of the delegates held high offices in state governments , including three who were governors. The founders believed in the idea that the purpose of government was the protection of individual life, liberty and property.
Following the election of George Washington as president of the convention, Governor Edmund Randolph of Virginia presented a draft of a new constitution .The Virginia Plan proposed a two house legislature. A lower house directly elected by the people of the states based on the population , and an upper house elected by the lower house.The congress was to have broad legislative power ,with veto over laws passed by state legislatures .The President and cabinet would be elected by legislature. The national judiciary would be elected by legislature , and their would be a "Council of Revision" with power to veto laws of Congress.
Delegates from New Jersey , New York and Delaware did not agree to the Virginia Plan due to the great power delegated to the national government . William Paterson of New Jersey submitted a counterproposal .The New Jersey Plan proposed a one-house legislature, with equal state representation regardless of population. Congress had some legislative power, including levying some taxes and the regulation of commerce.The plan also proposed separate executive and judicial branches , elected by Congress and removable by petition from majority of state governors.The judiciary was appointed by the chief executive .The plan also included the supremacy clause , stating that the Constitution and federal laws would supersede over state constitutions and laws .
After several months of debate , Roger Sherman of Connecticut came forward with a compromise.The Connecticut Compromise proposed a two-house legislature , with numerical representation in the directly elected House and equal state representation in the indirectly elected Senate. It also gave Congress broad legislative power, including the power to levy taxes and to regulate commerce . It proposed a single executive , chosen by an Electoral College .The judiciary would be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate .It also included the Supremacy Clause. This compromise was approved by the convention on the 16th of July,1787.
Over time, constitutional changes have come about as a result of formal amendments, judicial interpretations ,and presidential and congressional actions. The most common method of constitutional amendment has been proposal by two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress followed by ratification by three-fourths of the states. In my opinion , two of the most important amendments to the constitution are the Fifteenth Amendment(1870): the right to vote shall not be denied because of race, and the Nineteenth Amendment (1920): the right to vote shall not be denied because of sex.
In the future , the constitution will continue to be changed and modified , hopefully for the good of the American People.
