Which U.S. document, signed in 1787, begins with the words “We the People”?

The Constitution of the United States is the U.S. document signed in 1787 that begins with the words “We the People.”

The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia from May to September 1787. Delegates originally gathered to revise the Articles of Confederation, but instead created a new framework for the national government. The Constitution established three branches—legislative, executive, and judicial—and divided powers between the federal government and the states.

Thirty-nine delegates signed the final document on September 17, 1787. It took effect after the required ninth state, New Hampshire, ratified it on June 21, 1788; the new federal government began operating under it in 1789. The Constitution is often confused with the Bill of Rights, but the Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments added later. The Articles of Confederation preceded the Constitution and created a much weaker national government.