hi there my name is maya and welcome to u.s history 4 the constitution and the bill of rights
in this video you'll learn about how the founding fathers of the united states wrote
america's constitution still followed to this day you'll also learn about the original 10 amendments
as well as a bit about the more recently added 17 amendments
in 1777 the u.s drew up its very first constitution as a free country the articles of
confederation in other words this was their first document stating their principles and laws however
this constitution was very vague and the states decided it wasn't good enough therefore in 1787
each state sent representatives to meet in philadelphia to develop a new constitution
the goal of the constitution was to create a strong government
with several branches as well as list their purposes
by september of 1787 they had successfully created such a document and each representative signed off
the constitution begins with a famous preamble we the people of the united states in order to form
a more perfect union establish justice ensure domestic tranquility provide for
the common defense promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves
and our posterity do ordain and establish this constitution for the united states of america
while these words are certainly beautiful you might be surprised to learn that the writers
actually made some grammar errors throughout the constitution such as misusing the word it's
following the preamble the constitution is broken into seven articles each concerning
a different topic article 1 is known as the legislative article
and talks about who should make the laws for the entire country
it describes that laws must be passed by congress which is composed of two groups the senate and the
house of representatives the senate is made of two senators from each state and the house is made of
a certain number of representatives from each state depending on how many people live there
the majority of this article remains the same to this day but as the united states grew in size the
section listing how many representatives come from each state had to be amended
this article also describes the decisions congress should make such as regulating trade and taxes
article 2 is known as the executive article and is all about the election process and position
of president of the united states this article explains the requirements of a president such
as being a natural-born citizen of the u.s over the age of 35 as well as the power the president
holds as commander-in-chief of the u.s military it also describes the limits on the president the
president's term must only last four years before another election and presidents may be removed by
the congress in a process called impeachment article 3 is known as the judicial article
describing the court system and how the country will make sure every citizen is playing fair
it states that the power to judge who's following the constitution will be held
by the supreme court and that trial shall be held with a jury of citizens it also explains
that an act of treason or betrayal of the country is to be declared by congress article 4 explains
the purpose of the states and that new states may be added to the u.s as long as congress approves
article 5 talks about the process of how new points can be added to the constitution
these editions are called amendments so far 27 of these amendments have been made article 6 is
about the oath of office for elected officials which is a solemn promise to serve their people
it also covers how the u.s should deal with the money that it owed at the time to other countries
finally article 7 confirms that each state has agreed upon what is in the constitution
it is followed by the signatures of every representative sent to work on the constitution
following the creation of the constitution the first congress met in 1789 george washington was
named the first american president that same year in 1791 james madison one of the founding fathers
created the bill of rights in response to citizen complaints that the constitution
did not protect individual freedoms the congress officially added it to the constitution that year
the bill of rights is the name of the first 10 amendments to the constitution
these are the original amendments set forth by the founding fathers in order to keep things
simple here's a brief overview of what is written in each of these amendments
the first amendment declares that all citizens have the right to free speech religion press
peaceful assembly and to petition the government the second amendment declares that all citizens
have the right to bear arms which means defend themselves with legal weaponry
the third amendment declares that soldiers may not stay in citizens houses without their consent
the fourth amendment declares that no citizen shall be searched and none of their property
can be seized by law enforcement without probable cause or a warrant of arrest the fifth amendment
declares that citizens have a right to proper process and counsel if they are arrested
the sixth amendment declares that citizens have a right to a fair trial if they are arrested
the seventh amendment declares that citizens have a right to a trial by jury which means a group of
fellow citizens help the judge decide the eighth amendment declares that citizens have a right to
a fair bail or price to get out of jail as well as to no cruel or unusual punishments
the ninth amendment declares that even though not all rights are listed
this does not mean they are not given to the citizens the tenth amendment declares that the
powers not listed in the constitution are given by default to the states and the people to decide
in the following centuries 17 more amendments were added to the constitution
while some of them discussed older topics such as the prohibition of alcohol
many have changed the entire voting process such as the 19th amendment allowing women to vote
and the 26th amendment setting the legal voting age to 18.
with these amendments the united states still follows the original constitution
making it the oldest constitution in the world still followed to this day
if you want to learn more about the history of the us following the creation of the constitution
and the bill of rights check out u.s history 5 the u.s expansion and the civil war
meanwhile continue to practice your skills with our online learning games
and quizzes thank you for watching and until next time always be clever