Myconstitution.info

The convention which created the Constitution had no authority to impose it on the American people. The ratification, or adoption, of the Constitution took place between September of 1787 and July of 1788, and had to be accepted by at least nine of the thirteen states. Not everyone was in favor of it.

The Anti-Federalist Papers were published essays "To the people of New York" by several authors who wrote under various pen names, and were against a large Federal Government. They were not as organized as the Federalist Papers.  Their essays were in response to, and presented opposing arguments to essays in the Federalist papers. They presented reasons why the Constitution should not be ratified. 

Jim

Article 3 Section 1: "The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish..."

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the land and the only part of the federal judiciary specifically required by the Constitution.

The Constitution does not stipulate the number of Supreme Court Justices; the number is set instead by Congress. There have been as few as six, but since 1869 there have been nine Justices, including one Chief Justice. All Justices are nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and hold their offices under life tenure. Since Justices do not have to run or campaign for re-election, they are thought to be insulated from political pressure when deciding cases. Justices may remain in office until they resign, pass away, or are impeached and convicted by Congress.

The Constitution divides power evenly between three branches. This is to provide a system of "checks and balances." If any one branch tries to overstep its authority, the other two have the responsibility and power to keep it in check.

Article 1 establishes the Legislative branch and Section 8 thereof grants it very specific authority.

The Legislative Branch writes bills that the Executive Branch either signs into law, or vetoes.

It is divided into two "houses" (The House of Representatives, and The Senate) which collectively are known as, "The Congress."

In The House of Representatives, each state is represented according to its populace.  This ensures that the more populous states receive more representation to conduct "The People's" business.

In the Senate, every state, regardless of size, is represented by two senators. This ensures that the smallest state receives the same representation as the larger states, in conducting "The State's" business.

Bills may originate in either house, (however, "All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives...") and if they pass, they are passed on to the other house. If a bill passes both houses, before it becomes law, it is presented to the president for his signature. If he does not agree with it, he may "veto" it (Veto is Latin for, "I forbid.") and send it back to the congress with his written objections. If two thirds majority in both houses overrule the president's veto, the bill becomes law as if the president had signed it.  (Article 1 Section 7)

Our Constitution is our supreme governing document. It does not grant us any rights, but rather, protects them from being infringed, limited or taken away by an overbearing federal government. Any and all powers granted to the Federal Government is by consent of "We The People!"

Here is a link to the Constitution in the "library" section of our website. As you read it here, you will find many reference links contained within its text.  If a word or phrase was changed by an amendment, it will be indicated by a clickable link to a footnote, which provides a link to the actual amendment. (Note: From the "Constitution" page, you may go directly to any article or amendment. If you are reading any other page or section of the Constitution, you may also use the navigation menu button, "Constitution" to go to any other article or section without returning to the main, Constitution page.)

Not everyone was in favor of ratifying the Constitution and there was much debate concerning it. The Federalist Papers were a collection of essays to the people of New York to try to persuade them to ratify it.

And, for every point of view, there is an opposing point as well. A second set of essays to the people of New York arguing against the ratification of the Constitution became known as the Anti-Federalist Papers.

(Note: If you follow either of the two above links, from there, use the menu navigation button "Federalist Papers" to further navigate to the "Federalist" or "Anti-Federalist" paper of your interest.)

If a topic in the Constitution was the subject of debate in the Federalist or Anti-Federalist papers, a reference link is provided  to the appropriate document.

This cross-linking is a work in progress, and is nowhere near complete. What better way to understand the intent of the Constitution than to read arguments of those who created it?

We are currently in the process of creating help files.  Please bear with us.

If you encounter difficulties with the operation of the forums, please drop us a note here, and we'll do our best to help. This will help us to help everyone.

Thank you.