History of the United States Constitution History of the United States Constitution The United States Constitution was written in 1787 during the Philadelphia Convention. The old Congress set the rules the new government followed in terms of writing and ratifying the new constitution. After ratification in eleven states, in 1789 its elected officers of government assembled in New York City, replacing the Articles of Confederation government. The original Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times. The meaning of the Constitution is interpreted and extended by judicial review in the federal courts. The original parchment copies are on display at the National Archives Building. Two alternative plans were
Article Seven of the United States Constitution treated as a foreign government, it ratified the Constitution by the narrowest margin (two votes). Article Seven of the United States Constitution Article Seven of the United States Constitution sets the number of state ratifications necessary in order for the Constitution to take effect and prescribes the method through which the states may ratify it. Under the terms of Article VII, constitutional ratification conventions were held in each of the thirteen states, with the ratification of nine states required for the Constitution take effect. Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution, doing so on December 7, 1787. On