TheConstitution_WhatDoesitSay__NationalArchives.pdf

The Constitution: What Does it Say?
The Constitution of the United States contains a preamble and seven articles that describe
the way the government is structured and how it operates. The first three articles establish the
three branches of government and their powers: Legislative (Congress), Executive (o�ice of the
President,) and Judicial (Federal court system). A system of checks and balances prevents any
one of these separate powers from becoming dominant. Articles four through seven describe
the relationship of the states to the Federal Government, establish the Constitution as the
supreme law of the land, and define the amendment and ratification processes.

Article I

Article I assigns the responsibility for making laws to the Legislative Branch (Congress).
Congress is divided into two parts, or “Houses,” the House of Representatives and the
Senate. The bicameral Congress was a compromise between the large states, which
wanted representation based on population, and the small ones, which wanted the states
to have equal representation.

Article II

Article II details the Executive Branch and the o�ices of the President and Vice President. It
lays down rules for electing the President (through the Electoral College), eligibility (must
be a natural-born citizen at least 35 years old), and term length. The 12th and 25th
Amendments modified some of these rules.

Article III

Article III establishes the Judicial Branch with the U.S. Supreme Court as the federal court
system’s highest court. It specifies that Federal judges be appointed for life unless they
commit a serious crime. This article is shorter than Articles I and II. The Federal Convention
le� much of the work of planning the court system to the First Congress. The 1789
Judiciary Act created the three-tiered court system in place today.

Article IV

Article IV outlines states’ powers in relationship to each other. States have the authority to
create and enforce their own laws but must respect and help enforce the laws of other
states. Congress may pass Federal laws regarding how states honor other states’ laws and
records.

Article V

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How Did it Happen? 

Article V explains the amendment process, which is di�erent and more di�icult than the
process for making laws. When two-thirds of the Senate and two-thirds of the House of
Representatives vote to change the Constitution, an amendment goes to the state
legislatures for a vote. Alternatively, two-thirds of the state legislatures can submit an
application to Congress, and then Congress calls a national convention at which states
propose amendments. Three-fourths of the state legislatures or state conventions must
vote in favor of an amendment to ratify it.

Article VI

Article VI states that Federal law is supreme, or higher than, state and local laws. This
means that if a state law conflicts with a Federal law, Federal law takes precedence.

Article VII

Article VII describes the ratification process for the Constitution. It called for special state
ratifying conventions. Nine states were required to enact the Constitution. Rhode Island
became the 13th state to ratify the Constitution in 1790.

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