The Constitution of the United States was signed on September **17**, 1787, by 39 members of the Constitutional Congress.
The Constitution of the United States has just **7** articles and 27 amendments.
**12** states attended the Constitutional Convention which created a new constitution or design for government.
The Constitution provides for **3** separate branches of government in order to avoid tyranny. A system of checks and balances allows each branch to prevent abuses of power by another.
The Constitution specifies that the legislative branch of the government consists of **2** parts, the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Article 1 of the Constitution specifies that the Senate be made up of 2 Senators from each state, who each serve **6**-year terms.
The President, who heads the executive branch of the government, is required by the Constitution to be at least **35** years old.
In order for the new Constitution to come into effect, it had to be ratified by **9** of the 13 states.
The first **10** amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights.
Today there are a total of **27** amendments to the Constitution.
The **1**st Amendment to the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly and the right to petition.
The **13**th Amendment, which came into effect in 1865, abolished slavery.
The **16**th Amendment, which came into effect in 1913, established the federal income tax.
Prohibition of alcoholic beverages was established by the **18**th amendment in 1919. It was repealed by the 21st amendment in 1933.
Women were not guaranteed the right to vote until 1920, when the **19**th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified.