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Before the official Constitution, we had the Articles of Confederation, which could be considered a first draft of the Constitution we know today. However with the Articles of Confederation, the nation's economy quickly crumbled and it was evident that a changed was needed. In order to fix these issues, the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was organized to propose amendments to the Articles of Confederation. Seventeen weeks of heated debates were brought to the table and what first started as adding amendments to the Articles of Confederation quickly turned into an entire rewriting of it, which would be known as the Constitution. However, this Constitution still looked a little different than it does today. On September 17th 1787, the Consitution consisted of the Preamble and the 7 Articles outlining how our government would work. The amendments were later additions to this document that were brought about and ratified as America changed and encountered new conflicts over time. The Constitution was officially signed on September 17th 1787 and is now recognized as Constitution Day!
Click on the links below to learn more about each of the Articles and Amendments of the Constitution!
Or click on "Constitution Day" for a fun surprise!