20

Two women walk

past a painting at the

National Constitution

Center in Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania. The

Center is a museum

dedicated to honoring

and explaining the U.S.

Constitution. (William

Thomas Cain/Getty

Images)

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect

Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,

promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our

Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Every schoolchild in America has at one time or another been exposed to these famous

words from the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. The document itself is remarkable.

The U.S. Constitution, compared with others in the fifty states and in the world, is rela-

2

Learning OutcOmes

The five Learning Outcomes (LOs) below are designed to help improve your

understanding of this chapter. After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

◾   LO1 Explain how the colonial experience prepared

Americans for independence, the restrictions that Britain

placed on the colonies, and the American response to those

restrictions.

◾   LO2 Describe the significance of the Declaration of

Independence and the Articles of Confederation, as well as

the weaknesses of the Articles.

◾   LO3 Discuss the most important compromises reached

at the Constitutional Convention and the basic structure of

the resulting government.

◾   LO4 Summarize the arguments in favor of and the

arguments against adopting the Constitution, and explain

why the Bill of Rights was adopted.

◾   LO5 Describe the process of amending the Constitution

and the informal ways in which constitutional interpretation

has changed over time.

Check your understanding of the material with the Test Yourself section at

the end of the chapter.

Forging a New Government:

The Constitution

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