On September 17, 1787, 39 delegates representing 12 of the original 13 states (Rhode Island sent no delegates) signed the newly drafted United States Constitution, which is the oldest written codified constitution in existence.
The new country desperately needed a new governing document. The Articles of Confederation, which had been ratified in 1781, gave the central government very little power. It had no authority to collect taxes for instance, and could only generate income by requesting contributions from the individual states; those requests were frequently ignored. Agreement of nine states was required for the Confederation Congress to pass any legislation, and some bills required unanimous consent of all thirteen.
The Congress called in February 1787 for a convention of state delegates to meet at Philadelphia to draft a new Constitution. That convention began on May 25, and spent the summer arguing over how to organize a new government. Several authors have detailed those arguments, and how the delegates came to an agreement. Charles L. Mee, Jr.’s Genius of the People (e-book), Richard Beeman’s Plain, Honest Men (e-book | e-audio | print), and David O. Stewart’s The Summer of 1787 (e-book | print) follow the delegates through their summer of debate.
By September 12, a subcommittee led by Governor Morris had written the final document based on the decisions made by the convention; the full body approved it on September 17, and it was sent to the Congress. Congress took quick action voting on September 28 to send the new Constitution to the states for votes on ratification; Congress did not, however, take any stand itself on whether it believed the Constitution should be approved.
Ratification was not certain, and there were major political figures on both sides arguing their cases. In an earlier “Week to Remember” post, we looked at the Federalist Papers, a series of essays putting forth the arguments for the new Constitution. Pauline Maier’s Ratification (e-book | e-audio | print) tells the story of the yearlong debates in the states over the issue.
The ninth state ratified the new Constitution on July 21, 1788, putting it into effect. The new government began operation on March 4, 1789, and George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United States on April 4, 1789. All thirteen states did eventually ratify the Constitution; Rhode Island was the last, on May 29, 1790.
There are many books analyzing the Constitution and its impact. Ray Raphael starts at ground zero; his The U.S.. Constitution (e-book | print) offers the short text of the document, annotated with notes on the meaning and importance of each section. Kim Wehle explains How to Read the Constitution and Why (e-book | e-audio | print). Akhil Reed Amar has written several books on the Constitution: America’s Constitution (e-book | print) is a general history; The Constitution Today (e-book | e-audio | print) looks at how several of today’s political controversies are shaped by the Constitution; and America’s Unwritten Constitution (e-book | print) explores the values, customs, and political traditions that have impacted how we read and interpret the Constitution.
In our sharply divided political era, it’s not surprising to find that readings of the Constitution can differ widely. Randy E. Barnett looks at Our Republican Constitution (e-book | e-audio); Erwin Chemerinsky offers a different view in We the People: A Progressive Reading of the Constitution (e-book | print).
One of the reasons for the durability of the Constitution is that it included a process by which it could be changed, and we began doing so almost immediately. In order to address some of the flaws that had been pointed out during the debate over ratification, Congress proposed twelve amendments in 1789, ten of which were adopted. Those ten amendments have collectively become known as the Bill of Rights. Carol Berkin discusses their history in The Bill of Rights (e-book | e-audio | print).
In total, we have amended the Constitution 27 times; the 18th Amendment was later revoked by the 21st Amendment (see our earlier post on Prohibition).
Only a handful of amendments have been proposed by Congress, then failed to be ratified by the states. Most recently, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), passed by Congress in 1972, and an amendment to give the District of Columbia full voting rights in Congress, passed by Congress in 1978, failed to get the necessary support in the states. They aren’t necessarily dead issues, though; in recent years, there has been an attempt to get additional states to pass the ERA. Jessica Neuwirth writes about the continuing need for that amendment in Equal Means Equal (e-book | print).
Were the ERA to finally be adopted after almost fifty years, that would be unusual, but not entirely unprecedented. One of the two amendments that wasn’t ratified from that first batch of twelve proposals in 1789 altered the rules for Congressional pay raises; only seven states had voted to approve it at the time. It had been mostly forgotten when, in 1982, college student Gregory Watson wrote a paper for a government class arguing that the amendment could still be ratified. When he got a poor grade on the assignment, Watson set out to prove that it could be done, and launched a nationwide campaign to get the states to ratify the amendment. It took a decade, but in May 1992, the 27th Amendment was finally ratified, more than 202 years after it was initially proposed.
There is surely room for further improvement of the Constitution, and new amendments are occasionally proposed. After his retirement from the Supreme Court, John Paul Stevens proposed Six Amendments (e-book | e-audio | print); conservative radio host Mark R. Levin offers The Liberty Amendments (e-book | print). Taking a lighter approach, Kevin Bleyer offers in Me the People (e-book | e-audio | print) to “save America” by rewriting the whole Constitution.
Also This Week
September 17, 1683
In a letter to the Royal Society of London, Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek described the “animalcules” he had seen through his microscope—the first reported observations of microbes. Van Leeuwenhoek was largely self-taught, and made his own lenses and microscopes, which were unusually powerful for the era. He was also the first to report observations of bacteria, muscle fibers, red blood cells, and several other microscopic organisms. Laura J. Snyder writes about van Leeuwenhoek’s work, and about the equally innovative visual techniques being developed at the same time by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, in Eye of the Beholder (e-book | e-audio | print).
September 21, 1969
Anne Burrell was born. Burrell is a chef and television host. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 1996, Burrell worked in several New York restaurants. She made her first Food Network appearances in 2005, and hosted Secrets of a Restaurant Chef from 2008 to 2012. Today, she is best known as the co-host of the reality/competition series Worst Cooks in America. Burrell is the author of the cookbooks Own Your Kitchen (e-book | print) and Cook Like a Rock Star (e-book | print).
September 17, 1979
Flo Rida was born. Flo Rida is a rapper and singer who released his first album in 2008, and has scored three #1 hits in the last decade—“Low” (featuring T-Pain), “Right Round” (featuring Kesha), and “Whistle.” He has collaborated not only with other rappers, but with more unexpected partners, including Lady Gaga (“Starstruck”) and Nickelback (“Got Me Runnin’ Round”). More of Flo Rida’s music is available for streaming at Hoopla.
September 22, 1994
Friends began its ten-year run as a staple of Thursday night television. The ensemble comedy about the friendships and romances of six twenty-something New Yorkers was one of TV’s most popular shows, and its final episode was the most-watched television episode of the 2000s. The cultural impact of Friends ranged from fashion—Jennifer Aniston’s haircut was widely copied as “The Rachel”—to slang—Joey’s usual greeting, “How you doin’?” became popular, and the show is often cited by new Americans as being helpful when they were learning English. Kelsey Miller’s I’ll Be There for You (e-book | e-audio | print) is a thorough look at the show’s history.