The original United States Constitution contained seven articles.
The seven articles established the legislative, executive, and judicial branches; described relationships between the federal government and the states; addressed amendment and federal supremacy; and set out the ratification process. The first three articles created the three branches of government.
The Constitution was drafted at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia during 1787. Delegates signed it on September 17, 1787, and the new federal government began operating under it in 1789.
The seven original articles are different from the Constitution’s amendments. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791. The Constitution now has 27 ratified amendments, but those are additions rather than part of the original seven-article structure.