Study GuideAmerican Government–The Constitution1.Creation of the ConstitutionThe United States was not the first country to use the idea of a “constitution.” People in England, themother country of the American colonies, also talked about having a constitution. However, theirconstitution was very different from what Americans later created.In England, the constitution wasnot a single written document. It was not something that could beprinted, signed, or displayed in a museum. Instead, it was made up of many laws, traditions, andcustoms that guided how the government usually worked. Together, these rules explained how thegovernment was “constituted,” or organized, and how it normally behaved.During the Revolutionary War era, Americans took this idea much further. Many believed thatgovernment should be based on acontract between the people and their leaders. In this contract,citizens had responsibilities, but government leaders also had clear duties and limits. Some actionswere allowed, while others were strictly forbidden.This raised important questions. How would leaders know what they were allowed to do—and whatthey were not allowed to do—without clear instructions? How could citizens tell if the government wasbreaking its promises unless those rules were written down?The U.S. Constitution was created to answer these questions. It became awritten agreementthatclearly listed the powers of the national government. At the same time, it specifically limited thosepowers by forbidding certain actions. These limits were expanded even further with the addition of thefirst several amendments.In this way, the Constitution defined the basic structure of the national government in a new andimportant way. Because it was written down, the government could not change it whenever it wanted.This made the Constitution a lasting and binding set of rules. For this reason, the United StatesConstitution is consideredthe oldest written constitution still in use in the world.2. The Continental CongressIn September 1774, representatives from12 of the 13 American coloniesmet in Philadelphia for theFirst Continental Congress. At this meeting, the colonies agreed on a set of resolutions and aPreview Mode
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