Forming a Government for the United States

While the Revolutionary  War was going on, in 1781  the thirteen colonies decided they needed to form a government.  The colonists created a government organization called the Articles of Confederation.

The  Articles of Confederation allowed most powers to the 13 states and little to the federal government.  In 1787  fifty-six delegates from the colonies met in Philadelphia to change the Articles of Confederation, but the colonists decided to do away with the Articles of Confederation completely and to write a new Constitution for the United States. 

In 1789, the United States replaced the Articles of Confederation with the government organization plan called the United States Constitution.  Today we still use the U.S. Constitution as our government plan for how our government is organized and for what rights the citizens of our country have.

Among the famous people who helped write the Constitution are Benjamin Franklin and James Madison. 

The United States Constitution creates three branches of government, the executive (president), the legislature (House of Representatives and the Senate), and the Supreme Court at the federal (national)  level.  Each state has two senators and each state has members in the House of Representatives based upon the population of certain areas of a state.   Today Texas has two senators and has 36 members in the House of Representatives with each representing certain areas of Texas.   The U. S. Constitution  has ten sections and 27 amendments. 

Washington, D.C. was chosen as the capital of the United States.  Washington is in the District of Columbia, an area that is not included as a part of any state.

After the Constitution was accepted (ratified) in 1789  , George Washington became the first President of the United States and John Adams became the first Vice President.