Definitive: The U.S Constitution.

Essay by SmilieUniversity, Bachelor'sA, December 2005

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Created in 1787, the Constitution is the soul and center of the United States as we know it. It is one of the most famous documents in history. The thing that makes the constitution unique is that after 214 years, after the final ratification, it still governs a country with full effect; even more so it was created by a group of leaders that had started from scratch and gathered different ideas to create the United States Constitution. This is why the constitution would be known as a bundle of compromises.

In order for the constitution to take full effect it would have to be ratified by two thirds out of the thirteen colonies. At the time it did not look likely for the constitution; the colonies didn't think it offered what they wanted much less what they wanted to hear. Then along came the compromises. Virginia wanted representation by majority rule, but that applied more to the bigger-city states (The Virginia Plan).

The New Jersey Plan on the other hand wanted equal representation. In order to solve this Roger Sherman proposed the Connecticut compromise, also known as the "Great Compromise", that suggested there to be a bicameral legislation (two house legislation). Another major issue they had was the division of power. To resolve the issue or fear of a central government with unlimited power they had to split the power. The government decided to give local power to the cities and states, and they would give the federal government general laws to which the cities and states could follow and interpret, which were set in the constitution. They also made the constitution amendable, (able to make changes), to change the constitution as times change.

Our forefathers knew that the thirteen colonies needed to be united and that the...