U.S. Constitution

U.S. Constitution. The supreme law of the United States which delineates the frame of the federal government. The Constitution’s first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, in which the federal government is divided into three branches.

These are: the Legislative branch, consisting of the bicameral Congress (Article I); the Executive branch, consisting of the president and subordinate officers (Article II); and the Judicial branch, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts (Article III).

The drafting (or ‘framing’) of the Constitution was completed at the Constitutional Convention at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 1787.

Since the Constitution became operational in 1789, it has been amended 27 times. The first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, offer specific protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers of government within the U.S. states. The majority of the 17 later amendments expand individual civil rights protections.

The U.S. Constitution is the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force in the world.