History of the U.S. Constitution - The U.S. Constitution Articles I-VII

28 S Linn St, Iowa City, IA 52240

Room 302

Register online or call 319-356-5220 

Presenter: Thomas McDonald

This series presents the history of the US Constitution, from the preceding Articles of Confederation to the ratification of the 27th Amendment. Attend any or all sessions; please register for each session you would like to attend. Membership required.

The US Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation and became effective on March 4, 1789 per agreement of Congress. Considering that this is the governing document for the United States, and has been for 233 years, it is relatively short. As originally handwritten it consumed only 4 rather large pages, 28-3/4 inches by 23-5/8 inches each, and contained 4,543 words, including the signatures. Articles I-VII set out the powers granted to all three branches of government, the process of admitting new states, and the process for amending the Constitution, plus the ratification process. This presentation will go through the history of the Constitution, why and how the final approved document came into existence, and interesting facts about the framers of the Constitution.