Timeline of the Constitution

Most people think there was a grand ceremony on July 4th when all the delegates at the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence. Actually, the Declaration was signed over several months in 1776. A few delegates never signed it.

After nearly four months of debate, the delegates gathered on September 17 to sign the Constitution. Before the signing, Virginia’s George Mason asked to include a Bill of Rights to the Constitution but his proposal was defeated. Three delegates, including Mason, refused to sign.

In the Fall of 1787, Delaware and Pennsylvania were the first states to ratify the Constitution.  New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the Constitution thus making it the official governing document of the United States.  Today, we call people who supported the Constitution "Federalists," and we call those that opposed it "Antifederalists."

James Madison promised his constituents in Virginia that if elected he would work in Congress to add a Bill of Rights to the Constitution.  Through Madison's efforts, 12 amendments were sent to states for their approval.  By December 15, 1791, the states had approved 10 of the 12.

In 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall wrote in the majority decision that a law Congress passed was unconstitutional.  This decision marks the first time the Supreme Court overturned an act of Congress, thus establishing the precedent for Judicial Review.

Dred Scott was a slave who lived with his master in the free state of Illinois and free territory of Wisconsin.  He argued that since slavery was illegal in those places he should be considered a free man.  Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Roger Taney said that slaves were no citizens and did not have the rights as citizens.

Abolished slavery.

Granted citizenship and equal protection of the law to all persons naturalized or born in the U.S.

Declared that the right to vote shall not be denied based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court allowed states to set up elaborate systems of segregation laws under the guise of "separate but equal."  The decision stood until the Civil Rights movement of the mid 20th century.

The 16th Amendment gave the government the authority to create an income tax on individuals.

The Suffragette movement started after the Civil War and generated national debate, protests, and tension for over five decades.  The 19th Amendment, providing that the right "to vote shall not be denied or abridged ... on account of sex," increased the number of voters in the U.S. more than any other action in history.

After the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, many states set up extensive regulations that separated the races.  Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Earl Warren wrote that segregation places a "badge of inferiority" on students that may impact them for life.  The Supreme Court ordered that schools be desegregated with "all deliberate speed."

The Supreme Court decided that if school officials think that a student exercising "freedom of speech" interferes with the functions of the school, then officials can limit the student's "speech."

Changed the voting age from 21 to 18 in response to complaints from members of the Vietnam-era military that they were "old enough to fight and die, but not old enough to vote."

The Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protections to freedom of the press and speech do not necessarily apply to student newspapers.