Answer(s)
(U.S.) Constitution
(U.S.) Constitution
The highest law of the United States that sets up our government and protects our rights.
The Constitution is the most powerful law; no other law can contradict it.
When a law or action violates the Constitution and is therefore invalid.
The group of leaders who wrote the Constitution at the 1787 convention in Philadelphia.
Government officials who work for and serve the people, not the other way around.
Officially approved; the Constitution was ratified when enough states agreed to accept it.
DOUGLAS GINSBURG, Federal Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit:
This is it, the Constitution of the United States. Check it out! Article VI says: “This Constitution … shall be the supreme Law of the Land.”
Every year in America thousands of laws are passed. Some by the Congress. Some by state legislatures. Some by city and county governments. Not to mention the thousands of regulations issued by federal and state agencies.
But the Constitution reigns supreme. If a court determines that a law is not consistent with the Constitution, it’s declared unconstitutional. It’s void.
People sometimes forget why we created the Constitution. It wasn’t to govern us – We the People. It was to govern the officials who govern us. That’s why they’re called public servants.
When the Framers met in Philadelphia in 1787, they achieved a feat never before tried: Creating a government from scratch. Framer: “Under my plan …” Several of the Framers had fought in the American Revolution – a war for liberty that had ended just four years earlier. Liberty was their guiding light. Their dilemma was how to give the new national government enough power while still safeguarding the liberties of the people.
The solution they gave us is the Constitution. And it’s small enough to fit in your pocket. That’s an impressive feat, too.
