Creation of constitution- The US was not the first country to establish a “constitution.” The word was also used by people in England, the mother country of the American colonies, to denote the regulations that governed them. The constitution, on the other hand, was not a single instrument or code to the British. They couldn’t print it on fine paper or keep it in a museum. It was simply all of the many rules and conventions that dictated how their government was “constituted” — how it behaved in normal circumstances.
This concept was taken to a new level by Americans during the Revolutionary War. Many considered the connection between rulers and ruled as a contract, with citizens having responsibilities and their leaders having obligations. There were some things that the government could do and others that it couldn’t. But, without some type of instruction, how would leaders know their rights and responsibilities? Without a list of Do’s and Don’ts, citizens would have no way of knowing if their government was breaking the agreement.
The United States Constitution arose in response to this yearning for a legally enforceable agreement. It outlined (stated) the national government’s powers and expressly prohibited additional activities (a list that grew with the first several amendments). Because it was a written code that the government lacked jurisdiction to amend, the United States Constitution outlined the basic framework of the national government in a fundamentally new way. As a result, the United States Constitution is regarded as the world’s oldest functioning constitution.
