The original U.S. Constitution contained seven articles, making it a concise framework for the government whose founding era is recalled by America250.
The first three articles established the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Article I created Congress, Article II established the presidency, and Article III created the federal judiciary. The remaining articles addressed relations among states, amendment procedures, federal authority, ratification, and the Constitution’s supreme status.
The Constitution was drafted at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 and signed on September 17 of that year. It replaced the weaker Articles of Confederation after states agreed that the national government needed stronger and more clearly divided powers.
The seven original articles should not be confused with the Constitution’s amendments. The first ten amendments became the Bill of Rights in 1791, and later amendments changed or expanded the constitutional system without altering the count of the original articles.