The Constitution's first three words--We the People--affirm that the government of the United States exists to serve its citizens.

James Madison was among the first to arrive in Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention in May 1787, and he brought with him a blueprint for the new Constitution. Though Madison's blueprint was an outline rather than a draft of a possible constitution, and though it was extensively changed during the debate, its use at the convention has led many to call Madison the "Father of the Constitution."

There are 4,543 words in the original, unamended Constitution, including the signatures. It is the shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world.

Several of the delegates were disappointed in the result, which they considered a makeshift series of unfortunate compromises. Some delegates left before the ceremony, and three others refused to sign. Of the thirty-nine signers, Benjamin Franklin summed up, addressing the convention: "There are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them." He would accept the Constitution, "because I expect no better and because I am not sure that it is not the best".

The Three-Fifths Compromise was a compromise reached between delegates from southern states and those from northern states during the Constitutional Convention. The debate was over whether, and if so, how, slaves would be counted when determining a state's total population for legislative representation and taxing purposes.

The first three articles of the Constitution set up the federal system by dividing power between three branches of government: the legislative, executive and judicial.

Two of America's Founding Fathers weren't present to sign the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson was representing his country in France, and John Adams was doing the same in Great Britain.

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, under the pseudonym Publius, published a series of essays, now known as The Federalist Papers, in support of ratification. These commentaries on the Constitution, written during the struggle for ratification, have been frequently cited by the Supreme Court as an authoritative contemporary interpretation of the meaning of its provisions.

Each state was given six months to vote on the proposed Constitution. On December 7, 1787, Delaware became the first state to vote, with all 30 delegates unanimously voting to ratify, making Delaware the first state to officially join the Union.

Proposed following the often bitter 1787-88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution, and written to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists, the Bill of Rights add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically granted to the U.S. Congress by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people.