The Constitution begins, “We the people...

” Write an essay on what group

were understood to be included in “the people” and what groups were

excluded?

The beginning line: "We the People of the United States" declares that the states remain in a

unity and that they are not independent of one another. The Constitution of the united states sets

forth the nation’s fundamental laws. It establishes the form of the national government and

defines the rights and liberties of the American people. The Constitution was written to organize

a strong national government for the American states. Previously, the nation's leaders had

established a national government under the Articles of Confederation. But the Articles granted

independence to each state. They lacked the authority to make the states work together to solve

national problems. After the United States won independence in the Revolutionary War (1775-

1783), they faced the problems of peacetime government. The states had to enforce law and

order, collect taxes, pay a large public debt, and regulate trade among themselves. They also had

to deal with Indian tribes and negotiate with other governments. Leading political leaders, such

as George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, began to discuss the creation of a strong

national government under a new constitution.

The Constitution identifies some population inhabiting in the United States; Indians, treated

as a member of independent tribe and not part of the American body politics; Women; other

persons: that is slaves-only the third were entitled to American freedom. It is no surprise that

American Indian tribes are mentioned in our Constitution. Indian tribes have always played a

major part in the non-Indian exploration, settlement, and development of this country. Many

white Americans considered Indian savages unfit for citizenship. Indian tribes has no

representation in the new government, and the Constitution excluded Indian not taxed from being

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counted in determining each state’s number of congressmen. The treaty signed gave them a

unique status within the American political system. But despite this recognition of their

sovereignty, treaties were essentially ways of transferring land from Indians to the federal

government or the states. Often, a treaty was agreed to by only a small portion of a tribe, but the

whole tribe was then forced to accept its legitimacy. Slavery shaped the lives of all Americans,

white as well as black. It helped to determine where they lived, how they worked, and under

what condition they could exercise their freedom of speech, assembly, and the press. The

Constitution gave the national government no power to interfere with slavery in states. And the

three-fifth clause allowed the white south to exercise far greater power in national affair than the

size of its free population warranted. Out of first sixteen presidents, four of them placed a

southern slaveholder in the White House. The constitution's use of the word “he” to describe

officeholder, however reflected an assumption so widespread that it scarcely required explicit

defense: politics was a realm for men.

Today, still the Constitution is the master document. Yes, it limits some of our freedoms, but it

is freedom nonetheless. When the Constitution was written, the Framers knew their creation was

not perfect. It was written exclusively by white men who owned land. Some owned black slaves,

male and female. Many more owned white women who were also chattel.They knew that other

people would have good ideas for the Constitution, that future generations would want to make

changes. They wanted to make it possible to change the Constitution without needing to resort to

revolution. They wanted to be sure that it wasn't too hard to make changes, but they also wanted

to be sure that it wasn't too easy. Slavery was made illegal and anyone that is eighteen years of

age, including woman, and an American citizen has the right to vote. The U.S. constitution was

only written for white men. The Constitution specify which men were created equal?

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Surprisingly enough the phrase "all men are created equal with certain inalienable rights" did not

mean what it does today. The nation was divided on the issue of slavery and the rights of the

black man in its early stages as a growing republic. Many American's argued that the black

people were not entitled to the same rights because they were not legally citizens of the United

States of America.

Constitution of the United Sates is a series of laws set up to protect the people from the

government, but not to protect the government from the people. It spells out the limitations of

the federal government, and protects the natural rights of the citizens. From the constitution, we

are given the Bill of Rights, which, are the first ten amendments to the constitution. In them we

are given inalienable rights, which are endowed by our creator; therefore, none can that them

away. Many of these men committed treason in order for us to have the rights such as: free

speech, free religion, the right to bear arms, the right to a militia, the protection against

unreasonable searches and seizures, the right to a trial by a jury of our peers, the right to due

process and equal protection, and so many more.