The Constitution and the Bill of Rights

Three years after the Revolutionary War ended, it was evident that the Thirteen Colonies needed a framework on which to base their ideas for a new government. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are over two hundred years old now, and the only documents of their kind, yet they are as important as ever in the way our government works today.


The very first form of government for the Colonies was the Articles of Confederation. Under these articles, each state had power to make their own laws, money, and taxes. They also included the Northwest Ordinance which was a set of rules for settling the new territiories. ( A New Nation pg. 384-7 )


In 1786, the Constitutional Convention was held to discuss the inadaquacy of the current government. Delagates from every state came, including eighty-one year old Benjamin Franklin. There were fifty-five in all; one half were lawyers and all were white property owners. George Washington was elected the leader, but James Madison was probabl...