The Constitution for the United States of America under the supremacy clause establishes the supreme federal law of the land superseding all conflicting state laws. The US Constitution is the founding document that defines the 7 original articles by which the country is to be governed. There have been 27 amendments since the Constitution was signed into existence in 1789.
Articles I through III dictate the separation of governance into 3 distinct branches: The Legislative Congress encompassing the US House of Representatives and US Senate; The Executive Branch detailing the office and powers of the US President, Vice President and associated officers and; The Federal Judiciary empowering the US Supreme Court and federal courts as described in Articles III, IV, V, and VI. Article VII was used by the original 13 states to ratify the constitution.
As mentioned there have been 27 Amendments made to the US Constitution in accordance with the modernization of our society. The first 10 Amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, protect the civil liberties of citizens and limit the powers of government. The amendments decree the often-debated rights to religious freedom, speech, media, assembly, protest, and bearing of arms, among others.
Amendments 11-27 extend the protection of civil rights for citizens and update governmental and federal authority procedures. The most revolutionary and frequently cited of these are Amendment XII which lays out the framework for the election of the President and Vice President, Amendment XIII which abolished slavery, and Amendment XIX which granted women the right to vote.
The US Constitution begins with “We the People” denoting that all government figures serve in their capacities as citizens no different to any other.
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