1. What is the supreme law of the land?
Answer:
The Constitution
Explanation:
Back in 1787, more than 200 years ago, the United States of America didn’t exist the
way it does today. There were just 13 states, and after they gained independence
from Great Britain, they had a very weak government. They struggled to survive (or
continue to exist) for several years with this weak government, but they had many
problems. So the 13 states decided to work together and write a new document (or
written record) to make the country stronger and more unified (or as one group), so
they could work better together as one nation. They called this new document the
Constitution.
The word “Constitution” comes from the verb to constitute, meaning to put things
together. The Constitution joined (or put together) the 13 states into a new country.
Since that time, the Constitution has been the supreme (or highest) law in the
United States. Everyone who lives in the United States must obey (or follow) the
Constitution. If there is a disagreement over whether something is legal (agrees with
the law) or illegal (against the law), we use the Constitution to help us to resolve (or
decide) the issue. That’s why it is the highest and most important legal document in
the country.
The Constitution was written during the summer of 1787 at a meeting called the
Constitutional Convention in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was a long,
hot summer that year when the 55 delegates (or representatives) met to write this
new set of laws. Everyone had a different opinion (or thought or belief) about how
the new government should be organized. This is not surprising, since the
delegates had many different experiences and backgrounds. They were lawyers,
teachers, doctors, and military men, and more. The delegates also had some things
in common: they were all white men (no women or non-whites were allowed to
participate in the Constitutional Convention), and they were all wealthy (or had a lot
of money) and owned land. The president (or leader) of the Convention was the
famous military general, George Washington, who later became the first president of
the United States.
The delegates discussed and argued for many weeks, but they finally agreed on a
set of laws that would form (or create) their new government. The document they
produced (or made) is what we call the Constitution.